


Isn’t life just Preem

by LUCYxLIED



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Smut, Some angst, V is a softie, V loves food, Will add more as I go, i just love them so much, judy crying makes me cry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:55:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 56,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28250487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LUCYxLIED/pseuds/LUCYxLIED
Summary: Little snippets of V and Judy between contracts and the main story missions. May even do some of them after the end of the game. Not sure how many of these I’ll write or how often. Currently obsessed with them so we’ll see how long the hyperfixation will last.Haven’t posted a story in forever so this may be rough.•I have a whole plot planned for this story now and if you don’t like original characters I recommend reading something else.
Relationships: Judy Alvarez/Female V
Comments: 106
Kudos: 887





	1. Peter Pan

**Author's Note:**

> V seeks out Judy after helping River rescue Randy.

The longer Judy and V have been together, the more in-tuned Judy seems to be with V’s presence. It’s only been a few weeks and she can somehow sense whenever V is nearby or when she enters a room from how her heart starts to flutter in her chest. This is how she knows that V has entered Lizzie’s without having to glance at the cameras by her desk. Judy still looks anyway and there she is in all her badass, sexy glory.

It never fails to endear Judy when V stops by the bar and makes rounds with the regulars asking if they’re okay or checking in about their families. She knows everyone’s name and her interest is always genuine. V has become a small celebrity amongst the patrons and employees of the bar from helping out with joy toys and dolls seeking asylum or even just being a shoulder for a downtrodden drunk to cry on. Even those who try to flirt with V are gently let down when she tells them of her status with Judy and then V will point out someone else to them who V somehow knows is secretly pining for that person. So far she has set up five different couples this way. 

Today is no different than any other time she comes in, except Judy can see a wariness to V’s usual charm. If there is one thing Judy has learned since getting together with V it’s when she’s trying to hide her sadness or pain. Usually when this happens it’s either of two things. One: she had a job that went bad or she couldn’t save someone. Two: the relics condition is worsening. 

Judy selfishly hopes it’s the first reason that has V upset because even just thinking about the latter makes her want to throw up. 

The sound of the door opening alerts Judy bringing her out of her dark thoughts. V takes one look at Judy sitting in her chair at her desk and her whole body slackens as if a weight has been lifted off of her. She smiles at the techie in the cute, shy way she does when it’s just the two of them. V sluggishly makes her way over and then gently falls to her knees to lay her head on Judy’s lap. Her long raven black hair hiding the anguish on her face. 

“I’m so tired Judy.” V whispers brokenly into her thigh. “This city is just so...fucked.” Judy cards her fingers through V’s hair, knowing how much the merc finds it soothing. 

“What happened mi calabacita?” V sighs before lifting her face and looking up at Judy with such heartbreak in her beautiful green eyes. 

“Remember that detective I told you about? The one that helped me with the Peralez contract?” Judy squints her eyes to mentally flip through the many conversations they’ve had about V’s jobs and people she’s met. 

“The one you said might be the only decent cop in the city?” Judy herself has never had any pleasant encounters with cops. They all think they’re either above the law, or if you aren’t rich enough you don’t deserve their help. They could all fuck themselves for all she cares. But if there’s one thing that Judy has learned it’s that V always has good instincts about people and if she says he’s good then Judy believes her. 

“Yeah that’s the one.” V picks up Judy’s free hand that isn’t stroking the merc’s hair and she starts playing with her fingers. Probably to distract herself from whatever it is she’s about to tell the techie. “He called me earlier today asking to meet, he wouldn’t tell me what it was about but I could tell whatever it was that it was bad. When I met up with him he gave me a shard of a news coverage about the cops arresting a man they called Peter Pan. He got shot trying to escape and they found a dead boy in his car.” Judy vaguely remembers hearing something like that on tv but decides to stay quiet so V can finish the story. Judy can tell this won’t end happily. “Anyway River goes on to explain that his nephew, Randy, has been missing and that the dead boy was wearing his nephew’s shoes. The cops suspended him from even looking into it so he came to me for help. 

“We searched his room and found emails on his computer to some rando basically hand feeding this lonely kid what he wanted to hear. Got Randy to trust him enough to meet up with him. 

“Then I had to go through the fucks memories to try and find his hideout.” V shudders slightly and Judy absently scratches at the back of V’s neck. “We found out that he lived on an old cattle factory on the outskirts of the city. We rushed over there as fast as we could, fuck Judy, the things he did to those kids. He treated them like they were sick cows, had them hooked up to these machines.” V turns her face away from Judy when a tear manages to escape her eye. “I’ve seen some fucked up shit but that was...in the end we found Randy. He was barely alive, we managed to save two others but the last one was gone before we got there.” V lays her head back down in Judy’s lap in defeat. 

Judy gently lifts V’s head so she can look her in the eye. “You can’t save everyone V. I know how much you hate it when you can’t but you’ll tear yourself apart thinking you can save everyone in this hellhole.” 

V smiles sadly at her, “I know, doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” 

“It’s cause you have such a huge heart, I’ll never understand how this city managed to make someone as amazing as you. It definitely doesn’t deserve you, and neither do I for that matter.” Judy didn’t necessarily mean for that last part to slip out, but it’s something that’s been on her mind since they’ve been together. Judy has always been insecure about herself, never feeling good enough or that anyone would ever truly care for her. Then she met V and it was such an instant spark between them that Judy was at a loss. Never before has someone been there for her like V has. I mean hell V even backed her on her insane clouds plan without asking for anything in return. Not to mention their first date, syncing their emotions and Judy showing V her hometown and talking about her past like she never has with anyone before. 

Thinking about that night never fails to set Judy’s body aflame. The way V seemed to be memorizing her, her soft touches so unlike her regular merc persona. Judy had never been happier than she was that next morning when V confirmed that she wanted something with her. Even after she left Judy couldn’t keep the stupid grin off her face. 

But years on insecurities don’t vanish with just one night, and every once in awhile she’ll wonder if V will grow tired of her. Or if when the whole business with arasaka is done she’ll want to stay in the city instead of leaving with her like Judy wants to. 

V seems to see the questions behind Judy’s eyes because she stands up and then sits directly onto Judy’s lap. She caresses Judy’s face, just like she did that first night, and every time after. Her eyes are soft as she leans their foreheads together. 

“For all the darkness that’s infested in this city, there is only one light in my eyes and that’s you.” V kisses her softly before pulling back slightly. “If anyone doesn’t deserve something it’s me deserving you. You are the only good thing to happen to me in so long and I sometimes wonder if you are even real.” Judy pulls V back in and kisses her with such desperation. Fuck if this woman doesn’t know how to turn her into mush. When they both eventually slow the kiss to take a much needed breath, Judy can’t help but chuckle sardonically. 

“Fuck you for making me cry.” She wipes the tears off her face using V’s hand out of fake spite. “Now I’m sure I look a mess.” 

“You’re beautiful as always.” V kisses her forehead. “I don’t know what will happen in the days to come, but I want to spend them by your side. And when the smoke clears and all of this shit is taken care of, the two of us can ride out of this hellhole giving it the middle finger on the way out.” V’s cocky smirk reappears after having been missing since she walked into the bar and seeing it allows Judy to relax for the first time today. She can’t help the brilliant smile that grows on her face knowing that V truly wishes to leave this place just as much as she does. 

“It’s a date.” Judy just hopes they’ll both survive what comes next.


	2. Little man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy meets V’s cat

It’s been three days since Judy has last spent any time with V. Three whole days without falling asleep and waking up next to her merc. She would be lying to herself if she tried to say that even just one day without her girl wasn’t too long. Judy has grown to love those moments when she wakes in the morning to the feel of V’s arm around her waste and their legs intertwined. Never before has she felt so comfortable with another’s presence in her bed.

Every time before when Judy was with someone she always felt like she had to conform herself to that person. Change tiny aspects of herself to fit that person’s narrative. Maiko was the worst of them all, always finding Judy’s weaknesses and using them against her. Most of Judy’s insecurities stem from that very time in her life. V isn’t like any of them, she’s seen every side of the techie there is and yet she still wants her around. She still can look into Judy’s eyes like she’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. 

Judy presses just a bit harder on the accelerator in her van, the urge to see V growing the closer she gets to V’s apartment. Over the past three days Judy has been tweaking and editing the last few BD’s that Susie sent down to her. She barely even left her office under the bar for those days. 

The only time she took breaks was to eat or sleep or just to check in with her merc to make sure she was being careful. V had been doing a lot of odd jobs or small contracts while she’s waiting for a call from some Takemura. V didn’t give her much detail on what they are planning saying she doesn’t want Judy to become a liability in case something goes wrong. Judy can’t exactly fault her for that and V is usually really good with making sure to call Judy after her gigs knowing the techie worries about her. She also never tries to hide the fact that she may be injured or if the relic has acted up again. If there’s one thing that V has consistently been with Judy since the beginning it’s honest. V always says that she sees so much lies and deceit with her job that she never wants that to happen with them. 

Judy may not like when V tells her she’s hurt or she coughed up blood again, but she’d rather know so they can deal with it together instead of V trying to handle everything herself. 

Judy parks her van in V’s spot in her apartment’s parking garage. V now keeps all of her cars and bikes stored at the Delamain warehouse. How V manages to even befriend an AI enough to allow her to store her cars for free is beyond Judy. But that’s just V, if she could make an ex terrorist douchbag to start feeling morals befriending an AI is nothing. 

The elevator takes too long in Judy’s opinion and her leg starts twitching in irritation. When the doors finally open Judy makes a beeline straight for V’s door. It unlocks for her right away, V having given her the access code so Judy could stop by whenever she wanted. The techie has been here so often that she feels almost as at home as she does at her own pad. Or maybe that’s just knowing she’s amongst V’s things that makes her feel relaxed. 

Judy already has a warm smile on her face when she steps into the room but the sight in front of her was not one that she would ever have imagined. On the floor is her badass merc, who can take down a borg like it’s nothing, playing with an honest to god cat. V is on her knees holding out a piece of string while the cat swats at it with its paws. If Judy wasn’t so confused in this moment she would’ve found the whole scene utterly adorable. 

“Um, V, why the hell do you have a cat?” It’s Judy’s voice that finally breaks V’s focus off the cat and when she sees the techie she jumps up as fast as she can to run straight into Judy’s arms. 

“Jude! Fuck I missed you.” V picks her up slightly and Judy laughs at the merc’s enthusiasm. When V puts her back on the ground before Judy can even speak V’s lips find hers. They both sigh in relief knowing they’re together again. The kiss soon grows heated, tongues clashing and hands gripping the other closer together. This is normally how their evenings tend to go if they haven’t seen each other for more than a few hours. They finally pull back when Judy’s back hits the door behind her. 

“Hi.” V says with her smug ass smirk that annoys her and turns her on at the same time. 

“Not to ruin the moment or anything but why is my leg vibrating?” Judy raises a questioning eyebrow at the cat currently purring on her leg. V looks down and laughs softly before picking the feline up off the floor. She holds the cat in her arms and Judy mentally saves the image in her mind. 

“How did I know he would like you right away.” V shakes her head fondly. “I see how it is little man, two days I spent trying to gain your trust earning many a wound and all it takes is one sexy woman to gain your attention.” The merc huffs in amusement and winks at Judy who’s been watching the whole scene in bemusement. “Can’t say I blame ya.” 

“You’re ridiculous.” Only V would spend two days trying to rescue a half-starved cat. Fuck, if the techie didn’t already know how much she loves this woman this only reaffirms her of that notion. “Did you really name the cat little man?” Judy asks to quickly get any notion of love out of her mind. It’s way too soon for that. 

“That’s just what I was calling him during my daring rescue of this guy.” V guides them to the couch while she places the cat onto a makeshift bed on the floor consisting of a blanket inside a laundry hamper. “It’s just kinda stuck I guess, at least it’s better than what Johnny calls him.” 

“And what’s that?” Judy lays her head on the merc’s shoulder and V wraps her arm around her to pull her closer. 

“He calls him samurai, as if Johnny’s ego needs anymore stroking.” V snorts before flipping off an empty space in the apartment. It’s little moments like this that bring up sudden reminders that the woman she loves isn’t exactly normal. But who is she kidding, in Night City no one is normal. 

“You okay? You look tired, did you get any sleep? Is Susie giving you more shit cause I’ll kick her ass you know I will.” The concern in V’s voice soothes Judy more than the words themselves. Although she can’t help the laugh that slips out at the mental image of V literally kicking Susie in her ass. 

“As much as that image amuses me, I can handle Susie. I just didn’t get much sleep the past few days, who knew not having you there next to me would bother me so much.” Being honest and open about her feelings like this is still something that Judy is getting used to. Normally she’d never say anything that could be perceived as weak to someone she’s interested in in case they manage to use it against her. 

So it came as a surprise to her, the more she got to know V, who at their first meeting just seemed like any other merc in the city. Only out for themselves and only in it for the ennies. Was actually a very open person to those she trusted and her ability to care for those people is immense. She never fails to reassure Judy with words and actions how much she wants her there. 

V smirks confidently, “Well I could’ve told you that.” Judy playfully nudges her while rolling her eyes. “In all seriousness though, I didn’t sleep very well either. I missed your tiny snores.” 

“I do not snore!” The techie vehemently denies. 

“You do, it’s really adorable.” Judy starts swatting at the merc who seems to be getting too much enjoyment out of this. 

“Take it back,” she escalates her assault on the merc by going for her biggest weakness. The ticklish spot on her ribs that Judy discovered their first night together. V struggles to block her while laughing in hysterics. “I won’t stop until you admit that you’re a liar and I don’t snore.” 

“Never,” V manages to wiggle herself out of Judy’s grasp and falls to the floor. Little man sees her there and jumps on her chest. V grabs the feline and uses him a shield against Judy. “You wouldn’t dare attack a woman with an innocent animal in their arms would ya?” 

Judy just smiles down at the raven haired woman and shakes her head fondly, “if only people could see you now. V the badass mercenary hiding from her girlfriend behind a tiny cat.” Oh shit, Judy freezes after realizing the g-word slipped out of her mouth. Neither of them had brought it up before, and the techie is silently panicking that V won’t want to be called that. 

“Girlfriend huh?” Vs husky voice asks and a soft smile spreads across her face. 

“I..I mean yeah. If.. if you’re okay with that I mean.” Judy stutters at the intense look that V gives her. Her palms are sweaty and her heart races in her chest. Little man is soon forgotten again when V stands up bringing the techie with her. 

“There’s nothing I want more.” V kisses her deeply, almost trying to reinforce how serious her statement is. The merc then picks Judy up so she wraps her legs around her waist and clutches V’s shoulders. V carries Judy to her bed and gently places the techie down, never once breaking their kiss.


	3. First meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V has a visitor in the middle of the night. Judy meets one of V’s friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place a few hours after the last chapter.

The sound of harsh banging on the door rips V from her sensual dream of Judy and her making love by the bay. She was just about to reach her peak, the one that only Judy has ever been able to bring her to, and now she’s not only extremely horny but she’s about to murder whoever is still banging away at her door. 

A muffled groan is heard, from the literal woman of her dreams, in her arms. Judy is always extra grumpy when her sleep is disturbed and V can’t help but think it’s the cutest thing ever. The techie will scrunch her nose at whatever woke her up (usually it’s V getting ready to go for a job) and then she wraps a blanket around her head while huffing in displeasure. It usually takes the promise of many kisses and a cup of coffee for her to come back out again. 

V leans over to kiss the side of Judy’s head, “Go back to sleep babe.” V gently extracts herself from the bed making sure not to jostle the techie too much. She quickly throws on a tank and some shorts from off the floor before making her way to whoever is at the door. The banging starts up again when V opens the door only to receive a fist to the face. 

“The fuck man!” V curses at the sharp pain and quickly pinches the bridge of her nose. That’s when V finally sees who her intruder is. 

“Finalllly! Thought you nevr open the door.” Panam shouts out in a slurred speech. The nomad barges into the apartment with all the grace of a toddler. “Nice plashe ya got here.” 

“Pan, what are you doing here in the middle of the night wasted off your ass? Also can you keep it down a little my girlfriend is sleeping.” V hushes the drunk girl while trying to coerce her to the other side of the apartment. 

“Was sleeping,” Judy is sat up on the bed with the blanket covering her naked torso rubbing at her tired eyes. V gives her an apologetic look before focusing back on the nomad who is swaying on her feet. 

“Ah shit ya gots comapany. I’ll jush go.” Panam moves to leave but V swiftly stops her. 

“Oh no you don’t, your ass is way too drunk to be on your own out there. You can sleep here on the couch.” V struggles to get the nomad to cooperate with her. 

“I can hndle myshelf.” Pan pouts but also gives in to V’s guiding hands. She plops down onto the couch in defeat before lying down. 

“Just get some sleep Pan, we’ll talk in the morning.” V unlaces Panam’s boots and takes them off. She grabs a spare blanket and places it over her. Thinking the woman passed out she gets up to go back to her bed but a hand grabbing her arm stops her abruptly. 

“Thnk you V.” Pan whispers before letting go and falling right to sleep. The merc smiles fondly down at the sleeping nomad. Little man having also been disturbed from his sleep, jumps on the couch and settles back down on Panam’s chest. 

“Keep an eye on her for me will ya?” The cat just meows and closes his eyes. The merc chuckles to herself and sneakily takes a picture to hold over Pan when she’s feeling better. 

When V finally makes it back to her bed, the techie is still awake waiting for her. 

“Everything okay?” Judy’s tired voice is laced with concern. V has told her many stories about the crazy shit her and the nomad get up to. How V has grown to care for Panam like a sister. So Judy probably knows that the nomad showing up here drunk in the middle of the night has V more worried than she’s showing. 

“I don’t know, I guess I’ll find out in the morning.” While V is worried, she also knows that Panam is one of the toughest women she’s ever met. And with V at her side to help her there’s nothing they can’t handle. 

V snuggles into Judy’s body and the  
techie tucks her head into the crook of her neck. Judy’s favorite place when they cuddle. “Night baby.” She whispers and places a soft kiss to Judy’s head. The techie murmurs approvingly before her breathing deepens and her tiny adorable snores sneak out. The merc smiles contentedly drifting off to sleep knowing two of the people she cares most about are safe nearby. 

•••

A few hours later, V is wide awake preparing breakfast for three. She’s making her famous breakfast sandwiches that she used to make as a kid. V’s apartment doesn’t have it’s own kitchen to make anything elaborate and with her work as a mercenary she never really has the time to sit down and make food for herself. A normal day for V has her eating from whatever vending machine or street vendor she happens to pass by. So whenever she does have a day off, which hasn’t happened in months, she can actually sit down and make her own food. 

When the sandwiches are done she places then in the microwave to stay warm. V then scavenges through her apartment looking for all the ingredients for her special hangover brew knowing that Panam will need it when she wakes. Finding everything she needs for the drink, V tosses it all into a glass and stirs it together. 

“Ugh, fucking hell. Where the fuck am I?” The nomad curses as she wakes. She grabs her head and groans miserably. 

“Perfect timing sleepy beauty. Here drink this.” V shoves the brew into Pan’s line of sight. 

“V?” Pan questions while somewhat managing to sit up on the couch. “What am I doing here?” 

“Good question. Considering you showed up plastered at my door in the middle of the night waking up me and my girlfriend.”

Pan drops her head into her hands and moans under her breath, “Fuck my head is killing me.” 

“I’m sure it is, hence why I want you to drink this.” V offers the drink again. 

The nomad eyes the glass filled with a weird green liquid warily. “What the fuck is it?” 

“Just trust me and drink it. You’ll thank me later, just don’t ask me what’s in it.” 

“Yeah said every pervert hitting on a woman at a bar ever.” V rolls her eyes in exasperation. 

“Good thing I’m not a pervert then huh?” 

“I mean I don’t know, there was that one time..” 

“Oh for fucks sake just take the goddamn drink already.” 

Panam sighs dramatically before taking the glass from V’s hand, “Fine!” She chugs the whole glass and then slams it on the living room table. “There, happy now?” 

“Are you?” V crosses her arms and watches as the hangover cure slowly begins to take effect in the nomad. The tension in Pan’s shoulders loosen and she can actually open her eyes all the way without squinting in pain. 

“Fuck me V, the hell was in that?” Pan picks the glass back up like it’s a holy object. 

The merc just snorts in amusement, “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” V sits down next to the nomad who seems to be avoiding V’s gaze. “Everything okay with you Pan?” 

Panam leans back on the couch letting out a long breath in exhaustion. V finally takes notice of the bags under the nomad’s eyes. “Ever since Saul nominated me as co-leader of the family, I’ve been constantly terrified that I’ll fuck it up. That I’ll make a wrong decision or I won’t live up to the family’s expectations. I just don’t want to screw this up like I’ve done with so many other things in my life.” 

V takes a moment to let Pan’s words settle over her. If the merc’s being honest with herself she’s surprised that Pan hasn’t had a breakdown sooner over this. If it was V in her shoes she’d be questioning every decision she would or wouldn’t make. “You’re a good leader Pan, and you’re people believe that as well. Otherwise they wouldn’t have agreed with Saul. I mean just look at all the people who agreed with your insane ass plan to steal the panzer.” The nomad chuckles and V can see the smile she tries to hide. “Don’t let your fear of the unknown control you. It’s better to know that the fear is there but to keep moving forward in-spite of it.”

“Is that what you do?” Pan asks and V smiles sadly. 

“I think about what, or who I’d be leaving behind and then everything becomes clear for me.” V’s gaze moves to the sleeping figure in her bed. Her beautiful, amazing girlfriend that V would do anything for. She’d burn down this entire city if it meant keeping that woman safe. 

Panam follows V’s gaze, “Oh shit, you’re not alone. I didn’t interrupt you guys did I?” 

“Only some much needed sleep is all, don’t worry Pan you’re always welcome here. Just maybe call first.” V smirks at the nomad and they both chuckle feeling the seriousness of their previous talk float away. 

“So did I hear you right earlier and you say girlfriend?” Pan raises a devilish eyebrow. “When did that become official?” 

“Yesterday actually,” V’s smile broadens thinking back to when Judy called her her girlfriend and how nervous she got after. V’s heart almost exploded in excited and adoration at the fact that the techie wanted a real relationship with her. Never before has she trusted anyone enough to actually form a relationship with them. V has always had trust issues, and she hardly ever trusts anyone fully. But since day one of meeting Judy, there was just this connection with her that V has never felt before. To talking tech that first day and learning how to navigate a braindance. To witnessing Judy’s honesty, her anger, her loyalty to Evelyn and the dolls. How she tried so hard to change something for the better and then helping her wade through the fallout. It was all these things that led to the inevitability of V’s trust in Judy. It was that trust that opened the floodgates of the merc’s affection for her. How everyday that passes with Judy at her side V falls more and more in love with her. 

“Well it’s about time. Hopefully she didn’t get the wrong first impression of me.” Pan says. 

“Nah, Judy works at a strip club where she probably sees drunk people all the time. And not just drunk people, but horny drunk people.” V reassures her. 

“And you would be right.” The techie’s husky morning voice says from the bed grabbing the pairs attention. Judy stretches her arms out jostling little man who she had been cuddling with. The cat meows before moving to another spot on the bed. V can’t help but stare at how gorgeous her girlfriend is, even first thing in the morning. 

“I think you’ve got a little drool there V,” Pan wipes at the corner of V’s mouth with her finger. 

The merc swats her hand away, “Oh fuck off.” V stands up from the couch and walks over to Judy. The techie’s eyes are warm as they watch her approach. “Morning babe,” V kisses her gently on the lips and brushes some of her unruly hair off her face. 

“Mmm, morning to you too mi calabacita,” Judy pulls her in for another kiss before she gets up. V hands her one of her larger shirts and a clean pair of underwear. Not caring about modesty, Judy drops the bedsheet and gets dressed. V heads over to her little office area and pours out three cups of coffee. She brings them over to her guests who seem to be eyeing each other in curiosity. Judy snatches hers from V’s hands and the merc can’t help but laugh at how much the techie needs her coffee in the morning. 

V brings the other cup to Panam who’s being oddly quiet, “So now that we’re all awake. Pan, this is Judy my beautifully brilliant girlfriend, and Judy this is Panam, a crazy ass bitch.” The nomad just laughs knowing that V is just fucking with her. That’s one of the things that V loves about her friendship with Pan. They could shit on or tease each other and the other one will always know it’s because they care. Only V could get away with calling Pan a crazy bitch and live to tell the tale. 

“You always have such a way with words.” Panam jests right back. “It’s nice to finally meet the woman that V never shuts up about.” 

“Is that so?” Judy’s smile grows mischievous.

V quickly clears her throat to stop this from getting embarrassing, “Are you guys hungry? I made sandwiches, why don’t we eat those.” The merc rushes to the microwave and pulls out the food she made earlier. 

“Is this what I think it is?” Judy asks with eager eyes when V passes the sandwiches out to everyone.

“Only the best for my girl,” V smiles adoringly when Judy takes a huge bite of the sandwich while moaning in bliss. Ever since the first time V made this for Judy it’s all the techie wants to eat when V cooks for her. The merc sits down next to Judy on her bed who completely ignores her in favor of eating. 

“Who knew you were such a softie,” Pan then takes a bite of her own food. “Okay fuck, I take that back, this is probably the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” 

“I can think of something better I’ve had in my mouth.” V whispers seductively into Judy’s ear. The techie almost chokes on her food and V can see a slight blush spread on her cheeks. The merc smirks victoriously at having flustered her girlfriend who has said some downright filthy things to her in public just to see V squirm. 

Panam having finished eating jumps up from the couch, “I hate to dine and dash but I should probably be heading out.” 

V makes eye contact with Judy who gives her a slight nod seemingly reading the question in V’s eyes. “You don’t have to leave Pan, we’re both off work today if you’d like to just hang with us. Give you a break from being all leadery.” 

The nomad seems to think it over and V can see the longing in her eyes, “Nah I don’t want to interrupt you guys. I’m sure you don’t get days off together very often.” 

It’s Judy who picks up on her hesitation and reassures her, “I’d actually really like if you stayed, who else is gonna tell me embarrassing stories about V?” Both girls seem be of one mind when they look to the merc. This moment, right here, is one V will remember for the rest of her life. The moment where she realized that she made a huge mistake. 

“Um y’know, maybe this isn’t such a good idea...” V’s voice becomes drowned out as Panam laughs loudly. 

“You know what Judy? I think this is gonna be a beautiful friendship.” The nomad plops down on the bed with them, grinning from ear to ear. “Now what story should I tell first?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next two chapters are probs gonna be angsty


	4. Day before parade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the day before the disastrous parade and V has a lot of things left unsaid. 
> 
> She also has a gift for Judy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had the idea of V having a secret talent for awhile now and just had to write it in this story somehow. 
> 
> Also Thank you so much for your comments they literally make my day. 
> 
> I know very little Spanish so sorry if anything is wrong.

“Why’re we here? You barely even knew this girl.” Johnny’s harsh criticism pierces the silence that V had wrapped herself in. After she had met with Takemura to plan their heist on the parade there was just this longing to find somewhere quiet to think. It wasn’t until V arrived at the Columbarium, where Jackie and Evelyn are buried, that she realized she had some things left unsaid. 

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean I’m not thankful for what she gave me,” V lights a cigarette and places it in her hand with no intention of smoking it. People used to burn incense at graves, and the merc thinks Evelyn would appreciate the cigarette more. Seeing as anytime V saw the woman she always had one in hand. 

“Oh you mean a death sentence and a job that got your best friend killed?” V flinches at Johnny’s honesty. 

“None of that was her fault. This city is a siren, it sings you it’s song promising fame and fortune. And once you get closer to it the city eats you alive, only to move on to the next unlucky soul to hear it’s song.” V is also a victim of Night City. She used to think that she could have it all, especially after she met Jackie. His optimism and belief that they’d be legends is what made V also believe. And yet the city ate him too because of that belief. 

“There are no happy endings in this city,” Johnny says and then he fades from view having said his piece. 

V takes a deep breath and then slowly releases it, having to prepare herself for what she needs to say. 

“Hey Evelyn, I’ve never done this before so sorry if I’m shit at it. Firstly, I wanna say I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you. You didn’t deserve what happened to you. That piece of shit Woodman and those scavs are rotting in a ditch somewhere, so the’ll never be able to hurt anyone again.” Even just the thought of what those shitstains did makes V’s stomach churn. “I wish I could’ve done more for clouds. Maybe after dealing with arasaka I can find a better solution, for you, for Roxanne and the others; also for Judy. She tried so hard you know? But this city takes no prisoners. And Judy...Judy is too good for this place.” V flicks the cigarette in her hand and silently watches the ash fall to the ground. “I’m thankful to you, you know? You gave me something that I didn’t even know that I wanted, or needed for that matter. Meeting Judy has changed me in a way that honestly scares me to death sometimes, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

A soft smile breaks through V’s solemn facade, “She’s amazing Evelyn, the only reason I’ve made it this far is because of her. I can understand why you made the choices you did and I would’ve done the same in your position. All you wanted was to get Judy and yourself out of this fucking city. Which brings me to why I’m here.” V’s posture straightens and she stares resolutely at Evelyn’s plaque. 

“I promise you Evelyn, I’m gonna get Judy out of this city. If I have to fight every Tyger Claw, or fuck up all the corps who try to stop me I will. But Judy is getting out you have my word. I don’t know if I’ll be at her side when that happens and I selfishly hope that I will be. Either way Judy will be free of this place once and for all.” V drops the burned out cigarette on the ground. “Goodbye Evelyn, I hope you find your peace.” 

V stuffs her hands into her jacket pockets and walks away from the grave. She feels slightly lighter now that she said what she needed to. On her way out of the Columbarium, she stops at another grave, she doesn’t say anything cause she knows Jackie wouldn’t want her to dwell on him being gone. They knew each other well enough to know what the other would say. V just places her hand next his name, imagining his voice in her head. 

‘Fuck this city up V. Those fuckers won’t know what hit em.’

V takes one last look before pulling her hand away. She makes her way to her car and before she opens the door she feels her holo buzz with a new message. 

Jude: ¡hola mi calabacita! All done with work? 

V: yeah babe, all finished. Gotta grab some things from my place and feed little man and then I’ll be right over :)

Jude: you mean nibbles? 

V: I’m gonna ignore that. Do you need me to bring anything?

Little man, or Nibbles as Judy calls him now, has grown quite an attachment to the techie. If Judy is at her place all he wants to do is sleep in her lap. The techie won’t admit it but she loves it. V constantly catches her feeding him snacks throughout the day, hence her calling him Nibbles.

Jude: just your sexy ass self, preferably without clothes ;)

V chuckles at Judy’s playfulness, it still catches the merc by surprise sometimes. When they first met Judy was all business and didn’t trust a word that V said. So being able to see and enjoy this side of her is amazing. 

V: hm, that can be arranged ;)

Jude: can’t wait ;)

V puts her phone away and steadies herself for what she’s going to do later when she sees Judy. Her hands shake slightly from the nerves that build up in her. 

“So you’re finally gonna give it to her?” Johnny appears lounging on the hood of her Quadra Javelina, a car that V fondly calls her second best lady to the bemusement of Judy. 

“I finished it last night so there’s no point in delaying it. Especially with how things might turn out tomorrow.” 

Johnny takes a drag of the cig in his hand, “Not gonna lie kid, I’m pretty impressed with it.” 

V raises her eyebrows unbelievingly, “Wow, is Johnny Silverhand giving me a compliment?” 

“Don’t get used to it,” he dismisses her teasing with a wave of his hand. “And stop with the nerves already they’re driving me crazy.” 

“Sorry, sorry, I’ve never done this before so it’s a little nerve wracking,” V breathes in deeply a couple times and even tries shaking her arms to settle herself. “Can I count on you to not show up tonight? I’m already frazzled enough as it is I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t also pop up and make it worse.” 

Johnny groans and flicks the cigarette butt out of his hand, “Fine, but you owe me one.” 

“I’ll make your favorite meal tomorrow if we survive, how about that?” 

“Deal,” he agrees with V’s terms before disappearing again. V can tell he put himself into the furthest reaches of her mind to give her complete privacy for tonight. 

“Okay V, you can do this,” The merc starts up her car and drives towards her apartment to pick up Judy’s gift, while trying to control the shaking in her hands. 

•••

V places the large covered canvas in her hands on the floor and gently leans it against the wall. Just as she opens the door to Judy’s place she feels a hand grab her by the front of her jacket and yank her forcefully. Judy’s lips crash into hers and V practically melts into them. She moans loudly when Judy bites her bottom lip, “Fuck me.” 

Judy chuckles huskily into her ear, “Oh I had planned to. Although I am a little disappointed you aren’t already naked.” The techie pulls back with a slight pout on her face, “You are such a tease V.” 

V laughs and places a few kisses on Judy’s lips, her pout being replaced with a warm smile, “I’ve gotta leave you with some mystery don’t I?” 

“Oh please, I’ve seen every single inch of you there is V; with my eyes, hands, and tongue.” Judy punctuates each statement by grabbing her ass to pull them closer together when she says hands, and when she says tongue, she drags hers down V’s neck and bites harshly on her shoulder leaving teethmarks. Knowing how much the merc loves when she does that; seeing the evidence the next day of her and Judy’s love making. 

V groans when Judy kisses the mark on her shoulder. This woman will be the death of her, but fuck what a way to go. If Johnny was still present in her head at this moment he would also agree with her. But thank fuck he isn’t because there’s nothing more annoying than sleeping with Judy one night and waking up the next day to hear Johnny giving her tips for her sex life. 

“Oh I don’t know, I think you might’ve missed an inch or two. You should definitely remedy that,” V smirks at the mischievous glint in Judy’s eyes. V revels in these moments between them. Just her and the techie having a moment to just relax and be themselves, plus there is nothing sexier in V’s eyes than seeing Judy happy. 

“Oh I will, but first,” Judy leans in as if she’s going to kiss her again, their lips slightly brush together before she pulls back completely. “We have to eat dinner,” Judy says with the most shit eating grin on her face. 

“And you say I’m the tease,” V pouts before she’s interrupted by her stomach growling loudly. Okay, so maybe she skipped lunch today. Judy just raises an eyebrow, smirk still firmly on her face. V huffs in playful defeat, “Betrayed by my own body.” 

“Come in already mi calabacita, before that beast you call a stomach gets angrier.” V just chuckles at the apt description. It’s true that with her work as a mercenary V is more often than not always hungry. Judy is always making sure that V is well fed and it warms a place in V’s heart that’s been cold since she was a kid. 

V grabs the covered canvas from against the wall and the techie finally takes notice of it since the merc’s arrival. 

“Whatcha got there?” Judy’s question brings back some of her previous anxiety. 

“It’s a surprise, you can look at it after we eat,” V places the canvas in Judy’s bedroom and shuts the door to keep her curious techie from trying to sneak a peak. 

“A surprise huh? Now I’m extremely curious.” V has discovered, over the course of their relationship that Judy isn’t really a gift kind of person. She likes actions more than material objects. So V tends to surprise her with homemade dinners, and plans cheesy date nights that they both think are lame but love doing them anyway. By far their best date was their first one, and hopefully after Judy sees the gift she will understand just how much that day meant to V. 

“So what’s for dinner?” V asks trying to distract the techie from any more inquiries about the gift. Judy smiles at her and pulls a large covered dish from behind her and places it on the counter where V takes her usual seat when they eat here. Judy takes the lid off and that’s when the smell hits V. 

“Is that..?” V can already feel her taste buds salivating at the delicious aromas in the air. 

“Abuelita’s spicy enchiladas,” Judy chuckles at the dazed look V has on her face. 

“I can’t believe she actually gave you the recipe. Also not gonna lie I could actually cry right now it smells so amazing.” 

Judy grabs two plates from the cabinet and then dishes out two healthy portions of the meal onto each plate, “For years that woman wouldn’t give me a single recipe of hers, and one holo conversation with you and she’s sending them to me left and right.” During one of her and Judy’s dinner dates the techie’s granny had called on her her holo unexpectedly. Judy seemed nervous since she had just told V that she had recently told her grandparents that she was seeing someone new; and she thought it might’ve been too soon for V to somewhat meet them. Judy’s Abuelita loved V right away, especially when she found out that she cooked for Judy. V and Judy’s Abuelita spent hours going back and forth talking about different foods. Judy just sat back the whole time they talked with a soft smile on her face. 

V even gave Abuelita her number so she could call the merc if she ever wanted to talk more or just to get to know her. They’ve had a few conversations since then. V has yet to talk to Judy’s Abuelito, seeing as he is always working or tinkering on something when her granny calls. V used to refer to her as Mrs. Alvarez, but after V confessed to the fact that she never had grandparents before she practically insisted on V calling her Abuelita. The merc was embarrassingly giddy all day about it but V knows how much Judy loves the fact that her granny and V get along so well. 

“I knew it,” V smirks slightly while mockingly shaking her head. 

“Knew what?” Judy asks after she sets down their plates and sits down next to V at the counter. 

“Abuelita has the hots for me,” V holds back her laugh when Judy slightly chokes on her first bite of food. “I should’ve known this would happen. I mean I can’t exactly blame her, who can resist this face? It’s too cute.” V gasps when a funny thought hits her. “Do you think the recipes she sent are actually secret love letters? Like one cup of flour actually means you gotta preem ass?” At this point Judy is full on hysterically laughing which causes V to lose her control and she ends up joining her. 

“You are so full of shit,” Judy pushes V’s shoulder slightly after their laughter dies down. 

“I’m about to be full of Abuelita’s enchiladas,” V waggles her eyebrows earning an eye roll in return and takes her first bite of food. She moans unabashedly as if tasting the food of the gods, “Fuck that woman is a genius.” Each bite she takes is followed by the most sensual noises V has ever made. 

Judy snorts at the merc’s reaction, “She’s gonna expect a holo from you tomorrow so she can hear your opinion. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this excited to have a food buddy before.” 

“Oh don’t worry, she’ll get every single delicious detail. From how the flavors exploded on my tongue and how you can’t help but groan in satisfaction at the rich blend of spices that coalesce together to create the most breathtaking palette.” V says breathily and Judy just groans at her. 

“I seriously hate you sometimes,” Judy chuckles before going back to eating. 

V winks at her, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

The two of them finish their food (V having had one too many helpings) and they both stand in the kitchen cleaning up dishes and putting away any leftovers. They’ve done this so many times before that it basically feels routine for them now. Once that’s finished Judy turns to V with an expectant look on her face, the merc should’ve known the techie wouldn’t forget about the surprise hidden in her room. If there’s one thing that Judy lacks, it’s patience. It was probably killing her all throughout dinner to not ask about it. 

V just rolls her eyes and grabs one of Judy’s hands, “Alright come on.” V opens Judy’s bedroom door and then guides her to sit on her bed. V takes a seat next to her still holding her hand and casts her gaze onto the covered canvas. 

“Your hand is shaking, is everything okay?” Judy squeezes her hand with both of hers and V can feel her worried eyes on her face. 

“Yeah,” V releases a shaky breath, “So before you can look at the surprise, there is a bit of backstory that goes with it.” 

“What kind of backstory?” Judy asks. 

V moves her gaze back to Judy and meets her beautiful brown eyes, “Mine.”Judy’s eyes widen in shock, while the techie has been told certain pieces of V’s past, like how she grew up with an alcoholic single mother who used her words and hands as weapons against V almost daily before she disappeared, leaving the merc an orphan. But what V is about the share with Judy is something she’s never told anyone before (not including Johnny who can literally see her memories and hear her thoughts). 

“So contrary to what many people might think, I didn’t always want to be a mercenary. I actually hated fighting and violence because I saw enough of it at home,” Judy pulls V’s hand into her lap and gently strokes it with her thumb. Just knowing that she’s there, gives V the courage to keep going. “I knew what I wanted to be when I was six years old, my mother had finally passed out one night after a bender and I just really needed to get away, so I snuck out of the house for the first time. I think because of how my mother was to me growing up, I always had a hard time feeling things. Or at least letting myself feel things. I kept everything bottled up inside me because I was afraid of showing something that my mother could use against me. 

“Anyway, this particular night I happened upon a street artist tagging a wall with his art. I remember thinking it was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen. I went up to him and asked him what he was doing. I honestly thought he’d just send me away thinking I was being a nosy kid but I guess he must’ve seen that I was actually curious. And I’ll never forget this he said, ‘I’m letting out my anger onto the wall.’ 

“I was so confused because I didn’t see how someone could use spray paint as a way to let out anger, which is what I told him. Then he gave me my own can and told me to try it out for myself and pointed at a section of the wall that was bare. I must’ve spent hours spraying at the wall, it wasn’t until the paint ran out that I realized I had been crying the whole time. The guy came over and saw what I had painted, and I thought he might make fun of it or laugh that I was crying; he just nodded his head at me like he understood. He handed me another can of spray paint and said, ‘most artists are born through their pain and kid you’ve got some hella pain.’ I knew that day that I wanted to be an artist.”

V pauses her story thinking back to that day and how V never saw that man again after that night. The merc catches Judy’s eyes and can see the moisture building in them. V has to look away before she gets too emotional herself. 

“An artist?” The techie asks her with such wonderment in her voice. 

V laughs slightly under her breath, “Yeah I fucking loved it. It helped me cope through a lot of shit over the few years that it lasted.” Judy scrunches her eyebrows in confusion. “When I was ten my mother found where I had hidden all of my work and I came home one day to her burning it all in the front yard.” Judy gasps in horror, probably imagining what it would be like if it was her own BD’s that were destroyed; V just shrugs her shoulders knowing there’s not much that can be done about it now. “I stopped drawing that day. I had lost my confidence and the passion that came with it.” 

“Im so sorry V, I swear if I ever met that woman I’d give her a piece of my mind.” The vehemence behind Judy’s words brings a sad smile to the merc’s face. V tucks a strand of Judy’s hair behind her ear, easing the tension out of her girlfriend’s body. 

“I know, and I’m so thankful to you for that and for so many other things I’ve lost count.” V’s smile grows genuine, “The day you asked me to go to the bay with you was one of the best days of my life.” Judy blushes slightly and dips her head down bashfully. V cups her cheek with her hand and Judy places one of her own over it. V gently caresses her with her thumb, “I got to experience your world, and your passion. I felt like that six year old all over again watching an artist make something so beautiful. It was the first time in over ten years that I wanted to try drawing again, so the next day after I left, I bought some supplies and I started my first piece after so long.” 

Judy seems to realize what V has been leading to with her story, she looks over to the canvas that V brought with her.

“Is that it?” Judy asks barely above a whisper, her voice trembles with awe.

V nods, smiling at Judy, “Yeah, I finished it last night. It’s for you.” 

Judy’s whole face lightens up and her eyes are the warmest V has ever seen them, “You made this for me?” 

“Of course I did, you inspire me Judy.” 

Judy pulls V towards her and she kisses her hard. The kiss stays slow but V can feel how much Judy is trying to say with this kiss. The techie pulls back and connects their foreheads together, V brushes away the stray tear on her face. 

“Don’t cry baby, it could be the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen and then you can cry,” V teases the techie. 

Judy pulls back with the most serious look on face, “Not possible, anything made by you will be amazing.” 

V blushes slightly, still so unused to compliments, especially from Judy. The techie’s absolute faith in V’s artwork without even seeing it just makes the merc love her even more. “Alright, alright. Go on and take a look.” 

Judy stands from the bed and slowly makes her way to V’s piece. V watches as the techie carefully, almost as if in reverence, pulls the tarp away from the canvas. Judy takes a shocked step back once she sees for the first time, the painting that V made for her. 

“V...that’s..me...” Judy’s voice wobbles with uncontained emotion, V’s whole body shakes as her output takes it all in. 

On the canvas is Judy under the ocean as if she’s on a dive, but minus the gear. The sun shining from above the water casts down upon her, illuminating the gorgeous smile upon her face. The painting is done in a hyper-realistic style that V had specialized in as a kid. Every detail of Judy has been painted with such care and accuracy, if one didn’t know it was a painting they would’ve believed it a photo they were looking at. 

“Fuck V, you actually did this,” Judy’s body trembles and not once does she look away from the painting. “I’ve never seen myself like this before.”

“This is how I see you,” Judy finally looks away and back at V. “That day I saw the real Judy, the Judy that is free, and unbound with no Night City in sight. The you that smiles so brightly and has her dreams in her eyes.” The techie is full on crying now as she hears every word the merc says about her. “I wanted to do this painting of you because I want you to know that someone sees you, the real you. And she is so beautiful.” V barely finishes that last sentence before her arms are full of her crying girlfriend. Judy buries her face in V’s neck and she has a death grip on the back of the merc’s shirt. 

“Where have you been?” V almost doesn’t hear the whispered question that Judy asks from where her face is hidden but V knows what she truly means. ‘Where have you been all my life?’ ‘Why haven’t I found you sooner?’ V has asked herself these same questions since she first met Judy. The techie has turned the merc’s life so upside down that she doesn’t even recognize the person she was before they met. Who was she before she met this fiery woman who makes her want a better life for herself? Somewhere far away from danger and violence? V doesn’t ever want to go back to who she was before. 

“Looking for you it seems,” V answers and after a few minutes and a couple sniffles, Judy finally comes out of her hiding place. 

“Please come back tomorrow, I know you’re about to do something dangerous I could see it in your eyes earlier. Just please come back,” Judy’s voice cracks and V places gentle kisses on her lips. 

“Judy you’ve become my safe place, my home. I will never stop trying to get back to you. To get back home,” The merc is pushed back onto the bed and Judy quickly straddles her lap. 

“Touch me V please, I wanna feel the echo of your touch for days to come,” Judy pleads with her while pulling off her top and unbuckling the strap of her favorite overalls. 

V rolls them over so Judy is beneath her, the merc’s heart starts pounding at the desperation in her eyes. “Okay baby.” There’s nothing V wouldn’t do for her girl, and if her girl needs reassurance that V is still here and still alive by pleasing her all night then that’s what she’ll do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys no smut. I’ve never written it before, might try to practice it but no promises. 
> 
> Next ch will be Judy POV during the parade fiasco


	5. The parade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V leaves to go on her mission and Judy has all the worries 
> 
> Crappy summary but don’t wanna spoil stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work has been distracting me lately so hopefully this turned out alright. It takes place over three days so the timeline may seem wonky

When Judy rises in the morning it is with a sudden dread upon realizing what day it is. The techie reaches out for the sleeping merc lying naked next to her, and burrows her face into her chest; listening to her heart. After every dangerous gig the merc undertakes, this is how Judy always settles herself. By laying her head on V’s chest to hear her heartbeat, reassuring herself that the woman she loves is still alive and breathing. 

V unconsciously pulls Judy’s body closer to her and then let’s out a deeply contented breath. Even in her sleep, V can’t stand the thought of Judy being too far from her and the techie basks in it. In V’s attention, her never ending affections that she shows with her touch and her actions. 

Just thinking about the gift that V gave her yesterday makes her want to cry all over again. Never before has someone done anything like that for her and no one has ever seen her the way that V does. The thought of losing this woman...Judy doesn’t even want to think about it. 

V’s heart begins to race in her chest and she starts to let out agonized whimpers. Judy’s been waiting for this, knowing V always has nightmares before a big gig; especially if those gigs involve arasaka and the relic. Tears escape the merc’s clenched eyes as her body trembles violently. 

Judy maneuvers herself behind V having learned to keep out of range incase her limbs start flailing. There was one night at the beginning of their relationship, where V had grabbed Judy’s wrist too tightly and left finger marks on her skin. When V became aware of what she did in her sleep, she was so overwrought with guilt that it took Judy two days to reassure her that she was fine. That the mark she left was only a bruise and it didn’t hurt the techie as much as V probably imagined. 

After that night V’s unconscious mind now seems to recognize Judy’s presence in her bed even whilst buried in a nightmare. So every time Judy pulls her close, V subconsciously knows that she’s there, that she’s safe. 

“It’s okay mi calabacita, you’re okay,” Judy whispers soothingly in V’s pierced ear. “It isn’t real, you can open your eyes baby.” Judy repeats her words until she can feel V’s body slowly stop shaking. The merc’s arms wrap around her own on V’s waist. Judy places soft kisses on her head. The merc finally rolls over to meet Judy’s eyes. The sadness that encompasses her emerald eyes breaks Judy’s heart each time she sees it. 

“I’m sorry,” V whispers brokenly. Judy wipes the tears off her face and tucks errant strands of V’s raven hair behind her ear. 

“Everyone has nightmares V, even me,” V’s lips twitch slightly. “Was it about Jackie?” Judy asks carefully knowing how much the subject of his death still haunts V. Judy is the same way when it comes to Evelyn. The techie still doesn’t know what she’s supposed to feel over the death of her friend. Sad yes, heartbroken definitely, but there’s still so much anger simmering beneath her skin and that slight sense of betrayal at Evelyn keeping the truth from her. It’ll probably be a long time before Judy can ever think back to her friend and only feel fondness for her. 

V sighs deeply, “Yeah,” Judy waits patiently knowing sometimes it takes V a moment to gather her thoughts before she speaks. “I didn’t even really want to take that job y’know?”

This is news to Judy, but she also shouldn’t be that surprised by it. Since she’s known V, the merc usually tends to take the small jobs fixers send her way. Like the usual smash and grab, or the search and rescue ones. V has even told her about some of the really random and hilarious jobs she’s stumbled upon, like the guy she justly dubbed the fire-crotch man. The only time V takes on a high stakes job is when she deals with arasaka, and the only reason she does that is to save her own life. 

“I’ve always been pretty good at determining when gig offers are legit or if something about it stinks. And everything about that heist stunk.” V’s voice brings Judy out of her silent musings. “But Jackie was just so excited to become a legend and there was no way I was gonna let him do the job by himself.” 

“What happened to him isn’t your fault,” Judy tries to reassure her but even as she says it it feels like a lie. Just as she knows there will always be a small part of her that will feel responsible for what happened to Evie. 

“I know, I just feel guilty that I’m the one who made it out and he didn’t,” V confesses. “He gave me a home, him and his Ma. They pulled my lost soul off the street and made me feel like I could belong somewhere. We were a lot alike, me and Jack; from how we grew up afraid of one of our parents and that we were both just so desperate to mark our place in the city. To fight our way out of the muck and shit.” 

V rolls into her back and stares blankly at the ceiling, “The first week after I woke up was such a nightmare. Knowing that he was gone and finding out I came back from being shot in the head; then only to realize I was just gonna die again. It was all just too much. The only reason I kept going was because I wanted answers. I wanted to know everything and everyone involved and why that led to Jackie’s death. I didn’t want him to die for nothing.”

“I know what you mean,” Judy breaks her silence and V turns her head to lock their eyes together. They share such a look of such understanding that Judy doesn’t even have to explain. “We’re just a bunch of gonks huh?” Judy tries to lighten the mood, not wanting to dwell on death and pain anymore. 

V smiles at the techie knowingly, “The gonkiest.” Judy chuckles pecking V on the lips before finally getting out of bed.

She throws on V’s shirt from the floor, and then can’t help but look at the painting against her wall. Judy has a feeling that she’ll be doing this for a long time, just trying to wrap her mind around the fact that her output actually painted her in such a beautiful light. Its as Judy takes in every stroke of color, every detailed brushstroke of her features that she finally notices some words on the bottom corner of the painting. She moves closer to see that it’s only two words, “Valerie Grey...” she whispers to herself. 

Judy whips around to face the merc when it dawns on her what she just read. V is sitting upright in her bed with the shyest look Judy has ever seen on her face. 

The merc nervously scratches the back of her neck, “That’s uh, how I always used to sign my art. Valerie Grey, my uh, full name.” V clears her throat and smiles nervously. “I only tell the people I care about my actual name.” Judy smiles brightly at V. 

“Do you want me to call you that?” Judy asks genuinely curious. “While Valerie does suit you,” V blushes after hearing the techie call her by that name. “I gotta say I’m quite partial to mi calabacita,” Judy smirks when V chuckles. 

“You can call me whatever you want babe,” V smiles in that small way that Judy loves and then stands up, in all her naked sexiness, from the bed. She moves in front of Judy and kisses her on the cheek and then her forehead before placing a long one on her lips. When V pulls back she has her signature cocky smirk in place, “As long as you call me your girlfriend.” 

“Hm, is that so?” Judy wraps her arms around V’s shoulders that are a few inches higher than hers. The techie buries her hand in black tresses, feeling the silky strands between her fingers. 

V gently nips at Judy’s bottom lip before giving a harsh bite, the techie pulls the hair in her grip slightly in retaliation. The merc only growls under her breath and moves her lips down the side of Judy’s neck. V’s teeth gently scrape the techie’s pulse point and Judy can’t help the shudder that runs through her. 

Judy pulls back from V’s tempting mouth knowing the two of them only have a few hours before V has to delta and go do something potentially dangerous. “Come, we need to shower, especially after last night.” Judy raises her eyebrow suggestively. 

“I think it’s you who’s going to be coming,” V husks with darkened, lust-filled eyes. Judy swiftly grabs V’s arm and guides her out of the room and into the bathroom. 

•••

A few hours later (after a thoroughly pleasing shower) they are both dressed and have just finished eating a somewhat late breakfast. Both of them are seated on the couch and their small talk has faded into a somber atmosphere of nerves and fear. Mostly coming from Judy who feels like she could rip her hair out in worry and V hasn’t even left yet. 

V stands to clean up and throw away their trash. Judy’s heart feels like it wants to rip itself out of her chest with the speed in which it’s beating. She puts her elbows on her knees and rests her head in her hands. She tries breathing deeply to slow her heart before she has a panic attack. 

Judy feels another pair of hands gently wrap themselves around hers and slowly pull them away from her face. Her beautiful output is kneeling in front of her with concern swimming in her eyes. 

“Breathe baby,” V squeezes Judy’s hands and pulls them to the merc’s chest. “Breathe with me baby, that’s it.” The techie instinctually follows the rhythm of her loves breathing. V’s soft words soothing the ache built up in her chest. “That’s my good girl.” V praises her when her breathing returns to normal. She blushes slightly at the praise, especially outside of the bedroom, and the merc runs one of her hands through Judy’s dyed hair. The techie leans into the contact, soaking up as much affection as she can, not knowing when she’ll next see her girl. 

“I need to go, I have to buy some gear and then I have to meet Goro to go over our plan.” V pauses slightly before seeming to decide on something. The merc unstraps one of her knife sheaths from her leather pant leg, the one holding V’s favorite knife that she always has on her. V then straps the sheath onto Judy’s leg in a way that should seem unromantic, but with V it’s one of the most touching gestures Judy’s ever experienced. “I’ve has this knife for so long of my life, it’s experienced many of my hardships, and we’ve both spilled blood together; it’s as if this knife has become a part of me, and I want that part to stay with you. So In a way it’ll be like a part of me is still here with you, keeping you safe.” 

Judy surges forward and collides their lips together in such a passionate kiss that her head spins. The kiss is all nipping teeth and battling tongues, with neither one of them giving into the other. Moans slip out between hard kisses and their hands clutch at any piece of skin they can find. It’s only when the need for air rises do they pull back but not before stealing a few more slower kisses. Ones filled with unsaid promises and the love they have that they are afraid to voice aloud but know is bubbling just under the surface. 

“Stay safe mi calabacita, and come back to me,” Judy pleads while trying to hold back the onslaught of tears that threaten to fall. She’ll wait until after V leaves to fall completely apart. 

The merc smiles sweetly at her, “Anything for you,” and then she smirks cockily, “I’d like to see those gonk fuckers just try and stop me.” V kisses her softly on the lips, then her forehead and even one on her nose that has her giggle softly; which was probably the intended affect. 

V takes one more moment looking at Judy as if memorizing every part of her before she stands and grabs her jacket from off the kitchen counter. 

“Oh before I forget,” V grabs something from the pocket and then places it on the counter. “This is also for you,” Judy makes her way to the kitchen to see what else her output could possibly have for her. 

“Is that a BD?” Judy picks it up to slowly examine it, seeing that it’s unlabeled, most likely a raw unedited one. 

“Yup, I figured who better to edit it than the best damn editor in all of NC?” 

Judy ignores the compliment lest it make her blush. She looks over the BD one more time, as if trying to unearth it’s secrets by sight alone, “What’s on it?” 

“Guess you’ll have to find out huh?” V says cheekily before putting on her favorite armored biker jacket that Judy got for her. The merc kisses her once more and makes her way to the door. “Also if Abuelita calls tell her I got her message loud and clear, and that I also thinks she has one cup of flour.” V laughs loudly when Judy just rolls her eyes and flips her off. “See ya babe,” She says and then the next thing Judy knows the door to her pad is closed and the techie is surrounded in an oppressive silence. 

•••

It’s been three days since V left her apartment. Three whole fucking days of constant worry and what feels like never ending tears over not knowing what’s happened to her output or where she is. 

After V left the first day, Judy went straight to work at Lizzie’s hoping that editing the BD’s that Susie sent her way would keep her distracted. She almost succeeded at that until she saw the news. 

Every channel on tv seemed to be talking about the attack on the parade and the abduction of Hanako Arasaka. The techie knew instantly that V had to of been involved somehow. Judy practically held her breath, as she sat at her desk alone in the basement of Lizzie’s, as they talked about tracking down the people responsible. 

When the news anchor said that Hanako had been rescued and the suspects had been taken care of Judy felt her whole body begin to shut down. She tried calling V repeatedly on her holo, only for her calls to go straight to her machine. When that didn’t work the techie immediately left work and went to the merc’s apartment to see if there was any sign of her there, only to find it empty. 

Judy ended up picking up Nibbles who had run to her when she came through the door, she held him close to her chest all night as she cried herself to sleep in V’s bed. 

The next day she received a call that finally broke her out of the dark place she had fallen into the day before. 

Judy answered it right away thinking it might be her merc, “V?!” She shot up in bed still wearing the same clothes she fell asleep in. 

“No it’s Panam, I’m guessing by your voice that you haven’t heard from her either.” The sound of the nomad’s voice brought the burgeoning hope in Judy to a sudden halt. 

“No I haven’t—I’m so fucking worried Pan...” Judy’s voice cracks as she defeatedly lays back in the bed. “She always calls or texts to let me know she’s okay, but I’ve heard nothing.” Since Judy’s first meeting with the nomad after she stumbled into V’s apartment piss drunk, they’ve gotten to know one another pretty well. Their friendship is mostly bonded over a shared connection with the merc; at first it was just teasing V and telling embarrassing stories about her. Then one night V told Judy that they were invited to a barbecue that the clan was hosting to reaffirm their family. Judy was apprehensive about going but V gave her this adorable pout and Judy couldn’t bring herself to say no. 

That night was probably one of the best nights that Judy has had in years. The techie didn’t think she’d fit in with the Aldecados only to end up talking tech with Carol and a few others for two hours before V had to pull her away. Even her and Panam had a drinking contest at one point (Judy won). They all drank pretty heavily, including V who normally doesn’t drink or would only have a drink or two here and there. 

Judy’s favorite part of the night was when one of the nomad kids came up to V and challenged her to a dance off. The merc almost objected until the kid teased V for not wanting to embarrass herself in front of her output with her crappy dance moves. V immediately handed her beer to Judy before leaning into her ear to whisper huskily, “I’m about to rock your world babe.” She winked at the techie and then called out to Panam to play a song for them to dance to. Everyone circled around placing bets on who would win. 

When V finally started to dance Judy’s jaw dropped in shock and she learned something new about herself that day. She now knows that watching her girlfriend breakdance is an extreme turn on for her. She shouldn’t have been surprised that the merc knew how to dance considering she grew up in Night City. After the battle, that ended in a tie, the nomads cheered heartily and Judy couldn’t look away from the brilliant smile that V had on her face. 

Later when most of the camp had finally gone to bed, her and V escaped to their own tent for the night where they made love well into the early morning. The whole experience felt like a glimpse of what her and V’s life could be away from the city. The techie thinks back on that night a lot to remind herself that they are so close to having that dream. To having their happiness in their grasp instead of looking at it from a distance. 

“This is V we’re talking about, that girl always seems to get her ass into the middle of a shitstorm, but she always comes out on the other side.” Pan breaks Judy out of her reminiscing. “V is a damn good fighter and she is a survivor.” 

“I know, but it doesn’t make the worry I feel go away,” Judy watches Pan on the holo take a deep breathe before letting out what almost sounds like a disgusted sigh. 

“Okay I’m about to say something mushy and gross but I feel like you need to hear it. Look you and V got that true couple connection thing. I mean you should see the way you two are around each other. Like heart eyes and being able to read each other’s thoughts with just a glance and everything.” Judy smiles slightly in sympathy watching how difficult it is for the nomad to talk about this. “With a connection like that, you should just know in your heart if V is okay or not. So what does your heart tell you Judy?” 

The techie closes her eyes and subconsciously places her hand onto the knife on her thigh. The same knife that holds a part of V herself. 

“She’s okay,” the second the words leave her mouth Judy just knows that it’s the truth and with that she feels like she can finally breathe properly. 

“Then she’ll come back Judy, especially if it’s for you. And when she does I’m gonna kick her ass for making you worry.” Pan’s words warm her heart and she chuckles softly. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground and I’ll text you if I hear anything. Now I need to go wash the sentiment out of my mouth,” The nomad grimaces. 

Judy laughs and the nomad smiles back at her, “Thanks Pan, I really needed that I think.” 

“I got your back sister,” Panam gives her a weird salut before finally hanging up. 

That was two days ago. While Judy isn’t as panicked and scared as she was that first night, now she’s just full on pissed. For three fucking days the techie has gone through so many emotions over the fact that her girlfriend is missing and now she’s stuck on anger. An emotion that comes easy to her and she’s been familiar with since she was a kid who lost their entire home. 

Judy’s been pacing the length of her pad for about an hour now. Her hands are clenched tightly at her sides and her lip is bleeding slightly from where she’s practically bitten it raw. She’s been muttering curses in Spanish to herself and trying her hardest not to go out and start tracking down her no good, rotten, stubborn ass, adorable, fucking sexy goddess of a—

The sound of her door opening goes unnoticed to the fiery woman but it’s the feeling in her heart that has Judy stopping in her tracks. She turns around so fast she has to grab her kitchen counter for support. 

V is leaning heavily against the wall by her door. Her clothes are covered in dust and dirt. Her hair looks like it hasn’t been washed in days, there’s dried blood on her face and hands; and V looks as if she might keel over any second. 

All the anger that’s been building in Judy all day vanishes at the sight of her. 

“Hey babe,” V’s voice breaks with unkempt emotion. “I’m in trouble aren’t I?” 

Judy rushes to the merc and V catches her in her arms. The techie buries her face in V’s neck, and breathes her in, “Don’t ever fucking do that again.” A few sobs escape her lips. V tightens her hold on Judy and rests their heads together. 

“I’m so sorry baby, Im so sorry. I hate making you cry,” V rubs her hand on her back soothingly while Judy cries into her neck. After awhile when Judy’s tears seem to finally run out, the techie feels her body give in to the exhaustion that’s been piling up on her for three days. She can barely hold herself up and the merc isn’t in much better shape. In fact V’s eyes are almost completely bloodshot and their are dark bags under her eyes. 

Judy brushes off some of the dirt on her loves face and V leans into her hand, “Are you okay?” 

V smiles sadly, “I am now that I’m with you.” A tear slips from her eye and Judy lovingly wipes it away. The techie knows there’s a lot that needs to be said but her tiredness wins out over her need for answers. 

“Come on mi calabacita, we’re both exhausted and in desperate need of sleep. We will talk in the morning.” Judy watches with concern as V slightly limps her way into the bedroom. The merc takes off her dirty clothes and Judy gasps at the sight of all the bruises on her body. 

V quickly throws on an oversized shirt, “It’s okay, it looks worse than it feels.” V tries to reassure ever but Judy isn’t convinced. The merc sighs knowing her words didn’t help. “Please baby, let’s just sleep like you said. You can yell at me all you want in the morning.” Judy stares into V’s exhausted eyes and gives in. The techie changes into a tank and some shorts before climbing into bed. V joins her leaving a little space between them as if unsure if she’s allowed to be any closer. Judy grabs her hand pulling her closer and draping her arm around her waist. She tucks her head under V’s chin, snuggling as close as she can without hurting her. 

“Is this okay?” Judy asks worriedly. 

V sighs deeply pulling her in even closer, “It’s perfect.” They both fall into a deep sleep knowing they are finally with their other half.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a part 2 for this that’ll take place the next morning.
> 
> Don’t know if V has a canon last name so I just made one up


	6. The parade pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and V have a lot to talk about 
> 
> Lots of hurt/comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a doozy and it took me a lot longer than I thought it would. I really need to stop doing multiple projects at one time. 
> 
> Hopefully this turned out all right for you guys. 
> 
> Lots of dialogue in this chapter. 
> 
> As always thank you for your comments and for the fact that you actually want to read this. It literally blows me away.

Judy wakes slowly, still in the same position she fell asleep in the night before. Her merc is still sound asleep as Judy feels the gentle rise and fall of her chest under her chin. She takes this moment to look more closely at her output’s state. Yesterday was too much of a whirlwind for Judy’s emotions that her relief at seeing her girlfriend alive outweighed anything else she may have been feeling. 

Other than the bruises that seem to cover any patch of skin that the techie sees, there doesn’t seem to be any grievous wound. At least nothing that should warrant another breakdown on Judy’s part. So all that leaves now is V’s mental state. 

Judy’s appraisal of V’s condition is cut short when the merc groans slightly as she moves into wakefulness. “Fuck...” V tries raising her arms slightly only for them to flop down uselessly. 

“Sore, huh?” Judy asks unsurprisingly. Anyone with that many bruises on their body would have a hard time moving for days, let alone her stubborn ass mercenary. 

V opens her eyes and Judy notes the redness in them from the night before has gone down slightly. The merc tries to smirk playfully but only manages a grimace, “Mhm, and not in the good way.” 

“Alright cmon, let’s get you in the shower and try to loosen up some of those sexy muscles,” Judy grabs V’s hands and pulls her up into a sitting position on the bed. The merc breathes heavily through her nose as if that little bit of movement wore her out. “Also you kinda reek,” Judy scrunches her nose while smirking. 

V laughs before groaning and clutching at her ribs, “Fuck woman, don’t make me laugh.” 

“Cmon mi calabacita, let’s get you cleaned up,” Judy places one of V’s arms around her shoulder to help the merc keep her balance. Judy doesn’t even really try to help hold her up considering V weighs a ton with the chrome she has in both her arms and legs. The merc was adamant that she didn’t want to overdo it with implants as some mercenary’s tend to. V used to say when she started out as a mercenary that she wanted to do the job using her own skill and not having to rely on cybernetics. 

It wasn’t until the heist that she finally relented and had her kiroshi optics implanted along with the ballistic coprocessor on her hand. The only other cybernetics she’s gotten since then are her mantis blades (which Judy has admitted to V while under the influence of alcohol, that she finds utterly sexy) in her forearms and the reinforced tendons in her legs. Everything else in V is entirely organic, which in some cases like today, leave her with the aftermath of being wounded on the job. The techie even asked V why she didn’t just spend some of her eddies that the merc has saved up to upgrade herself more so she doesn’t feel so miserable all the time. 

V just adamantly shook her head and said, ‘I’d rather feel this pain, than to turn myself into some half-borg who can’t feel anything at all. It reminds me that I’m still human, and that I’m still alive.’ Judy always admired that side of V, her strength of spirit and her belief in her own skill. Even if that part also makes her worry needlessly about a stray bullet not being stopped by V’s armor-plated clothing. 

They slowly but surely make their way to the bathroom, with V having to take a few quick breaks to catch her breath. Once they finally get there Judy has V lean against the wall so she can place a short stool inside her bathtub. The techie returns to her output who watches her with the softest look on her face. 

Judy ignores it for now in favor of getting her merc the last few feet to the tub. The techie has her sit on the edge so she can remove V’s shirt, “Arms up baby.” V brings them up as far as she as can and her face slowly turns red with the effort she uses to keep them there. Judy quickly but carefully removes the article of clothing and hears a soft clink that catches her attention. After V’s arms drop back down, Judy notices the dog tags that her output is wearing, having never seen the merc wear them before. 

“What’s this?” Judy silently inspects them, the words on them are illegible, having been faded away with age. 

V picks them up with a sad smile, “They’re from Johnny. It’s his promise to me.” Judy can sense a story there but V grows quiet and gets a faraway look in her eye. 

Judy grabs her love’s hands again and pulls her back up so she can step into the tub. V practically flops down onto the stool in exhaustion. Judy turns on the water to let it warm up while she goes to grab some soap and hair products. When she comes back V is leaning heavily against the wall behind her and has her eyes shut tightly. 

Judy places the products on the ground and kneels on the floor. She runs her fingers through V’s raven tresses soothingly and the merc grumbles appreciatively. Her eyes open sluggishly but the happiness in them is blinding. 

“What am I gonna do with you, huh?” Judy whispers with unsuppressed fondness in her voice. 

V captures Judy’s hand and brings it to her lips and kisses each one of her knuckles. She then cradles it against her cheek, “Never let me go.” V’s voice cracks and moisture builds in her eyes. Judy leans forward and kisses her merc’s forehead. She leans back and tries to show V how serious she is, “I couldn’t even if I tried, and I’m never gonna try.” V pulls the techie closer so she can kiss her softly on the lips and Judy wipes away the few tears that escaped the merc’s eyes. 

V rests their heads together, “You are mi vida, Judy.” The techie flushes completely at hearing the loving words in Spanish. V tends to only speak Spanish to Judy when she’s trying to convey her sincerity. 

“And you are mine,” Judy whispers back. It’s moments like this where they lay everything out in the open to each other that terrify Judy the most. Her insecurities and doubts will always make her believe that she isn’t enough, that maybe one day V will realize this and she’ll leave the techie just like everyone else. The depths of her feelings for V are something that she thought she’d never feel for someone. Every touch, every kiss, every beautiful smile the merc gives her; it’s as if they are breathing new life into Judy. Showing her what it truly means to be loved, how it feels to share a space with someone that she knows would never intentionally hurt her, that would even lay down her life to keep her safe. All of these things make Judy wish to run to and away from V simultaneously. Her heart both begs for V’s love but also never wishes to know it for fear of losing it. 

V gazes into Judy’s eyes, watching the conflicting emotions flicker through them, “You’re so beautiful.” 

Judy scoffs in disbelief, “Please V, I’ve got no makeup on and I probably look like I haven’t slept in days.”

“And yet you are still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” her merc lovingly grazes her finger along Judy’s eyebrow then down her cheek and along her bottom lip. 

Judy blushes and nips at the finger on her lip, “Charmer.” 

“Is it being charming if I’m only speaking the truth?” V raises an eyebrow and smirks devilishly. Judy shakes her head while rolling her eyes at her infuriatingly suave girlfriend. V just chuckles knowingly. Damn her for always turning the techie into a pile of mush. 

Judy puts her hand under the shower head to see how warm the water is. When she deems it acceptable she has V scoot closer on her stool so her body is under the spray. “Lean your head back mi calabacita.” V does as she says and Judy carefully uses her fingers to work out all of the knots in her merc’s hair. When that’s done, Judy uses the shampoo to clean out all the dirt and dried blood. V’s body slowly relaxes as Judy gently massages her girlfriend’s scalp and the moans she releases in the process are downright sinful. 

Judy finishes cleaning V’s hair and moves on to her bruised body. The techie is careful not to add a lot of pressure to the darkest of bruises. She does spend a little extra time working out some of the kinks in her merc’s shoulders and thighs. V becomes so relaxed in her ministrations that Judy thought she’d fallen asleep until she hears her merc moan again when Judy works out a particularly stiff muscle, “Fuck babe, have I ever told you you’ve got magical fingers?” 

Judy chuckles, “Maybe once or twice.” She rinses off V’s body, double checking she didn’t miss a single spot of dirt. When she deems her girl thoroughly clean, she turns off the water and grabs a clean towel. “Okay stand up and see how you feel.” 

V rises slowly ands tests out the movement of her arms and legs. V whistles appraisingly under her breath, “Seriously babe, I’ve got two words for you. Magical. Fingers.” 

Judy chuckles and wraps the towel around V’s shoulders. “Alright go get dressed and I’ll get us something to eat. And then we need to talk.”

V’s eyes grow sad before she quickly hides it away, “Yeah, okay.” The playful atmosphere from before vanishes as V’s demeanor shifts into one of resignation. 

The merc leaves the bathroom with slumped shoulders and Judy guiltily goes in search of some food. She only finds a few breakfast bars in her cabinet and grabs her last two bottles of Real Water from her fridge. By the time Judy brings everything to the couch V is dressed and waiting there for her. 

“Here,” Judy hands her a bar and a water. “Its not much. I haven’t exactly had time to go shopping for food lately.” V takes them from her and simply holds them in her lap. Her gaze is locked onto her hands and she can’t seem to look Judy in the eye. 

Judy sighs deeply and puts her own food down, “Seems like neither of us is in the mood for eating.” The techie places her finger under V’s chin to raise her head towards her, “Please look at me V.” Her merc hesitantly meets her eyes. “Tell me everything that happened. Please, I need to know, and don’t leave anything out.” 

V nods once and begins to tell Judy everything that happened since she left, starting with her and Takemura’s failed plan during the parade. How the ex-bodyguard improvised kidnapping Hanako in order for them to speak to her alone; and then V having to run for her life as arasaka goons began swarming all of little China. 

“I met Goro at some decrepit motel where he was keeping Hanako. He tried having me talk to her, to convince her of the truth of her father’s death. She didn’t believe a word that we said...then things went from bad to worse.” V pauses slightly before speaking again. “Arasaka found us, they blew a hole into the room and swarmed in. The explosions caused the ground beneath me to cave in and I fell through to the floor below. It’s probably how I got all these bruises.” Judy grabs one of V’s fidgeting hands, needing the contact as she recounts her story. 

“After I fell, the relic started to malfunction, badly. Johnny wanted me to escape right away but I couldn’t leave without Goro. He saved me from that landfill that Deshawn threw me in, so I couldn’t leave him to fight arasaka alone.” That sounds like her V, always trying to save people, even those that once tried to kill her. Judy sometimes wishes that V wasn’t so selfless all the time, but then she remembers that it was that selflessness that had Judy falling for her in the first place. 

V then goes on to describe how she fought her way through the goons and somehow managed to find Takemura who was holding his own against three armed men. “When we got out of the motel the relic started to malfunction again and I could barely stand. Goro suggested we go separate ways to make it harder for arasaka to find us, so I broke into a random car and drove straight into the badlands. I didn’t really have a plan at the time I just knew I had to get as far away as I could in case they somehow found me. Which they did, but it wasn’t what I was expecting at all.” 

V describes her second chat with Hanako through the doll she sent to the merc’s hideout. “After the doll left, I planned on coming straight here but when I left the room I was in...” V squeezes her hand. “The relic malfunctioned so badly I didn’t think I would make it...I thought that was it for me.” 

Judy’s heart practically lodges itself into her throat. Her voice croaks when she speaks, “What-what do you mean?”

“If Johnny hadn’t of taken over my body and got me somewhere safe I don’t know what would’ve happened.” 

Judy’s hands shake in V’s tight grip, “He can do that?” Just thinking about some dude using V’s body gives Judy the chills. 

“Apparently, he brought me to a place called the Pistis Sophia in Pacifica, it’s where he gave me these.” V holds up the dog tags still on her neck, “They belonged to someone he knew as a soldier, they risked his life for his. So he wanted me to have them, as a way of saying he would risk his life for mine.” 

After V finishes recounting her story a heavy silence blankets the two of them. Judy is so lost in her own head that she doesn’t see the looks of apprehension that V casts her way. 

“How long?” She finally asks, her heart breaking even before she has the answer. “How long do you have V?” 

Her merc let’s go of Judy’s hand and a coldness sweeps through her veins. “I don’t know, it-it could be days, or maybe weeks. I just don’t know..” 

Judy feels a numbness set into her heart, her head feels dizzy and her limbs grow so heavy she fears she might feint. She takes in a few shaky breaths trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she may lose V any day now. Her ears start ringing and the need to run becomes so strong that she can’t fight it. 

The techie clumsily stands up and stutters, “I-I need space.” She doesn’t even look at V as she quickly runs into her office and shuts the door behind her and locks it. Judy can vaguely hear V’s panicked voice but everything around her feels muddled and parts of her vision go black. She tries to grab at her desk only to knock everything onto the floor as she falls to her hands and knees gasping as she fights for breath. 

“Such a gonk...such a fucking gonk,” Judy feels so stupid for having fallen for someone who is dying. Why did it have to be V? Why? Why couldn’t this burden be placed on any other fool in this city? Why did it have to be her beautiful merc? The sounds of her cries and desperate pleas drown out the sound of her apartment door opening and closing. 

After some time, when Judy finally manages to get ahold of herself she realizes what she did. How she basically ran from the very person she never wants to lose and how V might’ve misinterpreted it as Judy giving up on her. 

“Fuck Judy, now look what you’ve done..” she curses herself and her bad habits. The techie doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do now. How is she supposed to face V knowing all of this? To look her in the eye and tell her that everything will be okay when she knows for a fact that shit never goes the way that she wants it to. The techie sighs knowing she needs time to get her head on straight. She can’t go to V with empty promises and false platitudes. 

Judy sits up off the ground noticing the mess on the floor of her things that she knocked over in her panic. She starts picking everything up until she spots the unmarked BD that V had given to her days ago. The techie had completely forgotten about it in her constant state of worry the past few days. Judy picks it up and checks it over to make sure it wasn’t damaged. The curiosity she felt when she’d first received the shard rises to the surface again and she gets that familiar itch in her brain right before she edits a new BD. 

Judy gets out her BD wreath and places the shard inside it. She puts the wreath on her head and watches as the familiar lights flash into her eyes. She feels herself succumb to whatever V’s BD has in store for her. 

•••

“Okay all set,” V says as she places the brand new canvas onto a makeshift easel. 

“Are you seriously about to waste the time we have left painting? We should be out there taking the fight to arasaka,” Johnny’s voice rattles some of V’s nerves. Not only is she going to try and paint for the first time in years but now the devil on her shoulder is gonna give her shit about it as well. 

V sighs and looks over to where Johnny is lounging on the couch in her apartment smoking his nonexistent cigarette. “Yes Johnny, I am going to paint. If I could give you a guitar right now so you could get some of your anger out, wouldn’t you also stop for a second so you could play?” Johnny grows quiet before blinking out of the room. V takes that as a confirmation. 

The merc picks up a pencil, the feeling so foreign and nostalgic she almost puts it back down again; but then her mind ventures back to yesterday. To the amazement of the experience, the sense of freedom V felt under the ocean. The freedom that she knows was how Judy was feeling in that moment. All day the image has been haunting V, begging her to memorialize it forever so that she’ll never forget it. Never forget the woman that reminded her what it’s like to have a dream, to want to show the world that there is still beauty in it. That not everything has to be about pain and death. That Night City doesn’t always win. 

V places the pencil onto the canvas and begins to draw; she has never felt more free. 

////////

Some days V draws with fury, unleashing pent up emotions and memories that have been suppressed for too long. 

////////

Other days she just sits and stares, wondering what she’s even doing, why she even bothers. 

////////

There’s even a day where she throws all of her supplies into a trash can and lights in on fire. She ends up crying embarrassingly loudly to the point that her neighbors file a noise complaint. But all she can feel is the echo of a ten year old’s pain as she watches her mother turn her work into ash. 

////////

“You know I think I’m starting to finally see what you see in this chick,” Johnny looks over her shoulder, taking in V’s almost finished work. The merc ignores his presence, too focused on getting Judy’s form just right. The warmth in her chest as she paints the techie is unrelenting as is the rapid beating of her heart. 

V pulls her brush away to dip it in the cup of water next to her, “Oh yeah, and what’s that?” She wipes the wet brush onto a towel and takes a moment to let the paint dry. 

“That her heart is too big for a place like Night City and she’s got talent that could change a lot of people’s way of thinking if she had the chance to share it.” Johnny’s answer surprises V. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you compliment someone before, who are you and what have you done with Johnny?” V jokes not knowing what to do with a sentimental ex-rocker. 

“Ha ha, I can recognize talent when I see it y’know? And the kid’s got talent, kinda reminds me of a younger me in fact. At least before the terrorist gig.” Johnny shrugs nonchalantly and lights up a new cig. 

“I don’t think Judy would appreciate being lumped into the same category as you,” V watches as the ex-rocker kneels down next to little man. 

“I doubt most people would want to be in that category,” he says reaching out a hand then huffs in disappointment as it phases through the cat’s head. “How long before you think your painting is done?” 

V is grateful for the subject change, “I’ll most likely have it finished tonight, and then I’ll give it to her tomorrow.” The merc is both excited and nervous for the techie’s reaction to what she created. V just hopes that Judy will understand the hidden meaning behind all of it. The words that V wants so desperately to say but fears saying them aloud. 

“Are you going to tell her?” The ex-rocker asks as he flickers over next to her where she’s sitting on the couch. 

V hangs her head away from his questioning gaze, “I don’t know, what if it’s completely selfish of me to say it only to die a few days later? I can’t do that to her.” 

Johnny sighs in frustration, “And so what? Who cares if you’re being selfish? Take it from someone who lived their life with nothing but regrets and bad decisions. Don’t be like me V, take the rest of the life you have by the balls and don’t let that shit control you. Let me ask you this, do you regret meeting her? Do you wish you didn’t have feelings for her?” 

“Fuck no, I could never regret anything between me and Judy.” V fires back immediately, a fire builds inside her as she talks about her feelings for her techie. “She makes me feel invincible especially when I’m not. I’ve never smiled or laughed so much in my life as I do when I’m with her. She is everything to me and I will never regret how much I love her.” V notices the smirk on Johnny’s face and that’s when she realizes what she just said for the first time. 

“Fuck I love her,” the merc places a hand over her heart, the same heart that’s filled with everything that is Judy. V’s eyes fill with tears and she whispers in awe, “I love her.” 

•••

Judy comes back from the BD with her hand over her chest and tears streaming down her face. Her head is reeling from everything Judy felt as she experienced V’s memories. She even felt what it was like for V to live with another person inside their head. How she could hear and speak to him as if he was right there next to her. But even through all of this the one thing that kept repeating in Judy’s mind was V’s voice saying ‘I love her, I love her.’

“Oh god V,” Judy gasps as any lingering doubt or insecurity she may have had over V’s feelings for her vanish in an instant. Now she’s left with a new determination to fix things with her merc; she needs to talk to V and tell her everything. 

Judy rips the wreath of her head and carelessly tosses it onto her chair. She opens her office door and sees no trace of the merc at her place, “Shit.” There’s only one other place that V could be and she all but runs out of her place and jumps into her van. 

Traffic is shit as everyone seems to be out right now. She honks at one too many gonks in her haste to make it to her girl’s place. It takes Judy what feels like too long to park in the megabuilding garage and sprint to the elevator. 

“Come on, come on you slow piece of shit,” the elevator takes it’s time as it rises up floor by floor. When it finally stops Judy practically rips open the fence to get through. She starts running again and almost knocks someone over as she rounds the corner by V’s door. Judy takes a second to catch her breath before the door opens for her. 

V is sitting hunched over on her bed with Nibbles clutched in her arms. Her shoulders shake with silent sobs and Judy’s guilt skyrockets. 

“V...” Judy whispers but the mercenary hears it and her head shoots up as they lock eyes. V puts Nibbles down on the bed and shakily makes her way to where Judy is frozen by the door. 

“Judy..?” V questions as if she wasn’t sure she was going to see the techie ever again. “I-I thought you wanted space?” 

Judy desperately throws her arms around V. “I love you too,” She whispers into V’s neck. The merc stiffens in her embrace before she wraps her own arms around Judy. “I love you too,” she grasps V’s shirt and never wants to let go. 

V releases a shaky breath, “You watched my BD?” 

Judy nods her head yes before leaning back, she keeps her arms around V not wanting to break their hold on each other. “I’m so sorry for pushing you away, I was just so fucking scared and I didn’t know what to do.” Judy places her hands on V’s cheeks, using her thumbs to wipe away any remnants of her tears. “The thought of losing you terrifies me, but I meant what I said earlier today, I’m never going to let you go V.” 

The merc leans their foreheads together and the two of them bask in their spoken love for the first time. A feeling of peace settles over the couple, and Judy breathes easy for the first time in days. She pulls back slightly to look V in her beautiful clear green eyes, “There are some things that need change though V, no more going on secretive gigs where I’m left behind like some soldier’s wife waiting for them to come home from war. I won’t stand for being left in the dark anymore, I want to know everything that happens when it happens.” 

A small, warm smile grows on V’s face, “Okay.” 

Judy keeps going through her list of demands, “And I want you to move in with me permanently, no more going back and forth between two places.”

“Okay,” V is full on smiling as she watches Judy state her demands. 

“I know how much you love this place but I want to be there for every second that we-“ Judy stops talking when she realizes that V agreed with her. “Wait...okay? You’re agreeing that easily?” 

“Yes, I’m agreeing that easily,” V gently brushes a strand of Judy’s hair behind her ear. Her green eyes sparkle with such warmth and acceptance. “I also meant it when I said that you’re mi vida Judy. I want to spend everyday with you and if that means officially moving in then that’s what I’ll do.” Judy’s smile grows so brightly she almost has to pinch herself to make sure she’s not dreaming. “But I do have one condition.” V holds up one of her fingers. 

Judy raises an eyebrow at her, seeing the mischievous look in the merc’s eyes. “And what condition is that?” 

V smirks roughishly, “Can I please buy you a bigger bed?” The merc waggles her eyebrows while trying to look sexy but just looks like a dork. 

Judy chuckles at V’s antics, “you’ve got a deal you gonk.” V laughs and then kisses Judy leaving her breathless. 

“Could a gonk kiss you like that?” V asks huskily and out of breath herself. 

“Yes considering you are one,” Judy laughs heartily at the pout on V’s face. The techie peppers her face with kisses, “You are my gonk though.” 

V kisses her once more on the lips, “I can live with that.” She laces their fingers together and steps back from their embrace. “Why don’t you help this gonk pack up her stuff. She’s got a new place to move into.” 

“I can do that,” Judy let’s her girlfriend guide her around the apartment and all the while the techie is filled with such content. This moment feels like a new beginning for the both of them and that they are about to set off on a journey that could either make or break them; but either way they will live it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt this chapter was kind of like the turning point for V and Judy. It was important for me to go into their doubts and insecurities as both individuals and as a couple and having them work through it. 
> 
> I always wanted their love confession to be through a BD so having V be the one to record one for Judy felt special. As Judy says in the game a BD is pure emotion and what better way is their to express ones love than through a language that Judy understands. 
> 
> Yes Johnny showed up in the BD cause why not. If Judy can somewhat hear him when they are linked it should also be possible for him to show up when V scrolls herself. And anyway even if it’s not possible that’s what fanfiction is for right? 
> 
> Next chapter will be fluff I need a break from all this angst


	7. Moving in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V moves in with Judy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much just one big tease but I had a lot of fun writing it

“Fuuuck...” V flops down in an exhausted heap onto the new double bed she bought for her and Judy’s now shared room. She huffs in rapid breaths as sweat drips from her brow, “How many was that, eight or nine?” She looks over at her equally wore out techie stretched out next her. 

“Nine, definitely nine,” Judy’s arm covers her face as she attempts to regulate her breathing. 

V grumbles, “Fuck me, I can’t move. Who’s idea was this again?” 

Judy pokes her in her side, “You were just as much involved in this as I was babe.” The techie groans as she sits up on the bed. “Seriously V, how much shit do you actually own?” She asks looking over towards the nine boxes strewn about their bedroom. Packing up all of V’s stuff took a lot longer than they originally thought it would. It took them a few days to get everything at her old place squared away. Although V will still be renting the place until she figures out what to do with all of her weaponry. She only brought over her most favored arms (the guns and knives she tends to use on a daily basis) that are now locked up in a chest at the end of the bed. 

They both managed to take off of work today, well Judy took off V has just been ignoring her holo, so they could load up the techie’s van and another van that V rented for the day. They wanted to get everything loaded up in one trip so they could get it out of the way quickly; without realizing how fucking exhausting it would be to carry nine heavy ass boxes up the stairs in Judy’s building. 

“I had no idea I even owned that many things until we started packing them,” V drapes her head over Judy’s lap, she hums as the techie scratches soothingly at her scalp. “It’s funny cause when I came back from Atlanta I didn’t have a single eddie to my name. And now I have so many things I don’t know what to do with them.” V looks up at Judy who’s watching her with those adoring brown eyes. “What?” She asks self consciously. 

The techie just shakes her head, “Nothing, I just love you.” A beautiful smile grows on Judy’s face as if she still can’t believe the merc exists. V’s heart melts at her output’s cuteness. Ever since their confession a few days before they make sure to tell the other how much their loved at least once a day. It never fails to make them smile, even if they’re in the shittiest mood or have had a bad day of work; and if that doesn’t make life just preem she doesn’t know what does. 

“I love you too baby,” V rises up to meet Judy’s eager lips with hers. Another thing that’s changed for them is their sex life. If they thought it was mind-blowing before, now it’s taken on an even higher level of intensity. V swore to Judy after a bout of their lovemaking last night, when things became so heated between them, that the sheet on their bed was gonna catch fire from the amount of friction. In the end all that did was make Judy even more determined to prove V’s theory. (Suffice it to say, they had to buy new sheets.) 

Their heated make out session is interrupted by the sound of one of their holos going off. 

“Ugh, I swear if that’s Regina calling me again about a gig I’m gonna have to punch her.” V groans and dramatically throws herself back onto the bed. 

Judy chuckles at her antics, “Don’t worry mi calabacita, pretty sure that’s my holo this time.” The techie gets up in search of her phone. 

“Well if it’s Susie calling, you can tell her I said to go fuck herself,” V calls out to Judy who’s now in the kitchen. 

The techie giggles as she walks back into the room holo in hand, “Oh believe me she knows how much you dislike her.” Judy sits down in front of V who wraps her arms around her waist. 

“Yeah well anyone that treats you like shit is automatically on my shit list,” the merc kisses Judy’s bare shoulder and pulls her into her lap. 

The techie hums under her breath as V peppers more kisses onto her neck and cheek, “I guess that makes you my knight in sexy leather.” 

V chuckles with a smirk, “And here I thought you preferred me without clothes.” 

“I prefer you anyway I can have you,” Judy whispers seductively into V’s ear and nips at her lobe. 

The merc shivers in delight feeling the warmth in her body rush south, “Hm, you didn’t get enough of me last night, or this morning?” 

Judy pushes her til she’s lying back on their bed, “I can never have enough of you.” The techie kisses down the side of V’s neck and then bites at one side of her collarbone. The merc moans and swiftly flips them over so Judy lies beneath her. The techie’s pupils are blown wide and V smirks knowing how much it turns her output on when she displays her strength. 

V thoroughly kisses Judy with every ounce of passion for her that she has. Judy’s nails dig into the backs of her shoulders and pull down, leaving light scratches in their wake. This only spurs V on, but just as her hand is about to travel past the hem of Judy’s shorts, the techie’s holo starts to ring again causing her to stop. 

The merc grumbles from where her lips are currently sucking at the crook of Judy’s neck, “Ignore it.” She tries to continue her ministrations as Judy reaches for her holo, seemingly to shut off the insensate ringing. 

V has just reached for Judy’s shorts again when the techie curses silently. “Shit it’s-hola Abuelita!” When the merc realizes what Judy just said she releases the most undignified squeak from her lips as she rips herself off of her output and drops into a heap on the floor. 

“I wasn’t touching I swear!” V scrambles to make sure she’s wearing proper clothes when she notices the hysterics that her girlfriend is in. Judy clutches at her stomach as she laughs to the point of tears filling her eyes. V glances at Judy’s holo that has a blank screen showing she didn’t actually answer the call. 

“The look on your face,” Judy gasps out between even more laughs. “Shit I wish I recorded that.” 

The merc chuckles in disbelief, “Oh you are so evil. I’m so gonna get you back for that.” V picks herself up off the floor and makes a mad leap for Judy’s holo. “I wonder what Abuelita will think once I tell her allllll about it.” Judy’s eyes grow wide and V takes off running out of the room with the techie hot on her heels. 

“You wouldn’t dare!” Judy corners V by the couch and jumps onto her back in a desperate reach for her holo. “Valerie Grey put the holo down right now!” Judy wraps her arms around V’s shoulders and uses one of her legs to trip the merc. V falls onto her stomach on the couch with Judy still latched onto her back.

V uses one of her arms to keep the holo as far from the techie as she can, while her other arm flails around trying to keep Judy at bay. “Please Jude I’ve wrestled borgs twice your size there’s no way you will win.” 

“Wanna bet mi calabacita?” Judy husks into her ear and then pokes at V’s ticklish side. 

Laughter bursts from V’s lips, “Babe, that’s cheating!” 

“You’re just a sore loser,” Judy slowly wiggles her way up the merc’s body. 

“Is this a bad time?” They both freeze at the unexpected voice coming from the holo still in the merc’s hand. During their desperate and lighthearted wrestling they failed to notice V’s finger dial Judy’s last known caller. 

Judy and V look to the screen that has an image of an older woman with long, grey hair and kind brown eyes. She has a slight smirk on her face that’s almost an exact match to Judy’s own. 

“Abuelita!” They both exclaim in shock, neither having moved from their tangled pile on the couch. 

Judy’s granny still smirks at them, “Well you two seem cozy.” 

The techie groans loudly in embarrassment and hides her face in V’s neck. The merc just laughs finding the whole situation entirely hilarious, “Abuelita you have perfect timing. I have the funniest story to tell you-“ Judy’s head shoots back up and she immediately places her hand over V’s mouth to stop her from talking. 

“Ignore her Abuelita she’s delusional,” Judy doesn’t remove her hand and V giggles quietly behind her fingers. 

Abuelita just raises a suspicious eyebrow at them before chuckling in amusement, “Ah young love, how I remember those days. Always full of mischief and wandering hands.” 

“Ugh gross, I do not want to hear this,” Judy says in disgust while scrunching her eyebrows together. 

V removes Judy’s hand from her mouth, “I wouldn’t mind hearing it.” The merc playfully winks at the older woman who V has told how much she loves to embarrass her girlfriend in front of her because of how cute she gets when she blushes. 

Abuelita laughs warmly, “Perhaps I will tell you some stories when the two of you finally come to visit.” This isn’t the first time that the older woman has brought up them going to Oregon. There’s nothing more that V wants than to officially meet the people who raised such an amazing woman as Judy. To drop everything that’s keeping them tied to the city and not have to worry about V’s declining health; but that’s just a dream. An impossible want they can’t yet claim as they don’t know how much longer V actually has left. 

“I would love that,” Judy must hear the hidden longing in V’s voice as she gently lays her head on top of hers. 

“So mi hija, have you finished moving Valerie in?” The older woman’s voice soothes the last of V’s melancholy. The same day they decided to officially move in together V had told Judy that she was gonna tell Abuelita her full name. The techie reassured her that she didn’t have to, but V wanted Judy’s family to know all of her; the real her, and not just V the mercenary. The older woman had such a kindhearted smile after V told her, as if the merc had given her a precious gift, and she knew she made the right decision. 

V finally sits up on the couch, showing just how easily she could’ve gotten out of Judy’s hold. The techie just huffs in her ear where she still clings to her back, and V can’t help the smug smirk she sends over her shoulder. Judy pokes her side in retaliation causing her to squirm, “Yeah, we just got the last of V’s things up the stairs not too long ago.” The happiness that radiates through Judy’s words brings a smile upon V’s face. 

“I am so happy for the both of you,” the older woman seems to be holding back tears as she watches the two of them together. “I just wanted to call and check in and to let Valerie know what I thought about her new recipe.” 

V’s eyes widen in anticipation, “Abuelita, you should’ve started with that!” The older woman chuckles, “So? What did you think? Was it okay? There is something missing like I thought isn’t there?” V’s rapid fire questions are a blur as she practically begs the woman for answers. 

“I must say mi niña, if Judy does not marry you for your cooking I just might have to,” the older woman teases and V bursts into laughter. 

“Abuelitaaaa!” Judy whines and blushes a bright red. 

V continues to chuckle and kisses one of Judy’s flaming cheeks, “Hear that babe, looks like you’ve got some competition.” 

“Oh hush you,” the techie drapes herself even closer on V’s back. The merc just revels in Judy’s possessiveness. V takes one of Judy’s hands and places gentle kisses on her knuckles. 

“As for something missing, have you thought of adding some cayenne just to give it that extra kick?” The older woman suggests snapping V out of her Judy-haze. The merc stands up from the couch suddenly, and Judy has to grapple for V’s shoulder lest she’ll fall off. 

“Abuelita you are my angel! I need to write this down,” V rushes to the kitchen to find her book of recipes. She hardly even notices the techie still latched to her back like a koala. The merc is so engrossed in writing down the suggestion that she misses the loving yet exasperated eye roll that Judy shares with her Abuelita, who just smiles and winks at her smitten granddaughter. 

“Are you two planning on celebrating now that you live together?” 

Judy finally takes back possession of her holo while V is distracted so she can answer. “We were planning on having a quiet night in, no distractions and no work. Just the two of us eating whatever this one plans on cooking for me,” Judy rests her chin on the merc’s shoulder. 

V finishes writing in her book and puts it away to rejoin the convo, “Well if you must know, I was going to make a homemade pizza cause I know how much girl loves it.” 

“You spoil me,” Judy pecks V’s cheek and squeezes her legs around the merc’s waist. 

V runs a loving hand through Judy’s hair, “Well you deserve to be spoiled.” The techie happily snuggles into V’s neck to hide her blush. 

Abuelita watches them for a moment longer, her eyes shining with such happiness, “Alright you two lovebirds, I’ll let you go. Keep each other safe in that wretched city.”

“We will Abuelita and don’t worry, when this one brings out her famous Alvarez scowl it never fails to have everyone run in the other direction.” Judy scoffs and pinches V’s side. 

The older woman laughs heartily, “I must admit she gets that from me. Las quiero mis niñas, don’t forget to let me know when you are coming to visit.” The two of them say their goodbyes and the older woman hangs up leaving them in complete silence. 

“I do not scowl that much,” Judy says grumpily. 

V chuckles and maneuvers the techie so she’s now wrapped around the merc’s front. “I love when you scowl at everyone, cause then it means I get all of your beautiful smiles to myself.” V rubs her thumb along Judy’s bottom lip. The merc hums happily when the techie’s lips form said smile. “See? Beautiful.”

“That silver tongue of yours isn’t gonna get you out of the trouble that you’re still in,” Judy grabs V’s wandering hand and places it back on her waist. 

V sets Judy on the kitchen counter and slides her hands down Judy’s naked thighs to spread her legs wider. “You sure I can’t make it up to you?” The merc slowly sinks to her knees bringing Judy’s shorts with her. V keeps her eyes locked with Judy who’s breathing has started to turn erratic. “I’m sure I can use my silver tongue for you in other ways,” V smirks when Judy grabs the back of her head in a tight grip and pulls her closer. 

•••

“Okay, I’ve got one for you. What was your first impression of me?” Judy asks as her and V are snuggled together on the couch after having eaten an entire pizza. They started dinner later than planned considering V had to spend a few glorious hours getting out of trouble with Judy; and then another not so glorious hour cleaning every spot in the kitchen at Judy’s behest. 

After cleaning, V had sent Judy to go relax in the bath while she cooked and set up a quick makeshift romantic dinner for the two of them. The merc bought Judy’s favorite beer to have while they ate and she even sketched a small picture of some roses that she put in the middle of the table as a surprise. By the time Judy emerged from the bathroom, V had just pulled out the pizza and placed it on the counter. The sight of V’s romantic setup brought tears to Judy’s eyes and she hugged V as close to her as she could get. During dinner they whispered I love you’s back and forth while sharing warm kisses and adoring smiles. 

The questions started after the food was finished and they made their way to the living room to wind down for the night. It’s one of the things that V and Judy started to do during their dates to get to know one another better. Tonight they decided to ask about their firsts with each other. 

“That’s an easy one,” V’s legs are entertwined with Judy’s on the couch and she gently glides her fingers down the leg closest to her. “The first time I saw you, you were standing at the bar when I entered Lizzie’s that first time.” 

Judy raises a surprised eyebrow, “You saw me? I didn’t think you noticed me at all.” 

“Please Judy, you were the sexiest woman in that whole place. If anyone didn’t notice you then they need to get their implants checked,” the techie smiles bashfully. “I mostly remember being fucking pissed that I was on a job, cause then I couldn’t try to hit on you. Although looking back now I’m glad that I was, cause I don’t think I would’ve been able to get to know you the way that I have if I hadn’t been on a job.” 

Judy wraps her hand around V’s on her leg, “Even if you weren’t on a job and tried to hit on me, I would’ve said no.” 

The merc just laughs at Judy’s candor, “I know. I’m kinda glad you never met the V that I was before that job and before I got to know you. She didn’t much care for making connections with people or for spending more than one night with someone. The walls I built were so thick around me I never thought they’d ever come down; but fuck you got behind them so easily it scared the shit out of me.” V’s walls are still very much there, it’s just now there’s a tiny Judy shaped hole in them for her output to come and go as she pleases. Only that once Judy made her way through, she settled herself deep into V’s heart with no intention of leaving and the merc would never ask her to. 

The techie shimmies closer to V on the couch so she can lay her head on her shoulder, “Does it still scare you?” She asks. 

V doesn’t even have to think about her reply, “No, not anymore. Now I’m just so thankful.” The merc turns her head and kisses Judy’s forehead. She brushes back Judy’s hair and stares deeply into the brown eyes that V loves so much. “Okay my turn. When did you first start to trust me?” 

Judy fiddles with V’s hand that she’s holding and bites her lip in thought. “It was a lot of little things at first, like calling me to keep me updated about your search for Evie, but the big thing for me was when...was when you unplugged Evie when I said to and you didn’t unplug her early.” The techie’s gaze grows dark as she remembers that time. “You didn’t owe her a thing, and yet you treated her with respect. It was more than I was expecting and I knew then that I could trust you.” 

V rests her head against Judy’s when she feel the techie’s hand start to shake, “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.” 

The techie shakes her head, “You did more for the both of us than anyone ever has in this city.” Judy lifts her head and then shifts to sit in V’s lap so they face one another. “Okay no more sadness. So for my last question, when did you first realize that you liked me as more than a friend?” 

V shrugs in embarrassment, “When I got jealous.” 

“Jealous? Of who...Maiko?” Judy asks her as if it’s the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard. “Trust me V, you definitely do not have to be jealous of her.” 

“I know that,” V picks up Judy’s hand and places a delicate kiss on the inside of her wrist. “At least I know that now. At the time though it honestly shocked me because I’ve never been jealous before.” 

“Never?” 

“No, not even once,” the merc presses Judy’s hand to her chest where her heart beats rapidly. “I’ve never had strong enough feelings for someone to feel jealousy. I never rally stuck around long enough for that to happen. So the fact that I felt that with you, just proved to me how much I was starting to like you; and fuck did I like you Judy.” 

Judy smiles brilliantly at her, “Well you’re a gonk if you ever get jealous again because I’ve never felt like this with anyone else.” The techie kisses V slowly before biting on her bottom lip, “I’ve never wanted anyone to move in with me.” Judy nips at the merc’s chin, “I’ve never felt so loved and cherished than I do when I’m with you.” V grabs at Judy’s hips when the techie runs her tongue across her jaw. Judy places her lips next to V’s ear and whispers huskily, “And nobody has ever made me cum as hard as you do.” 

“Fuck,” V moans as Judy continues her assault on the merc’s neck. “Y’know, I’ve heard it’s tradition to christen every room after a couple moves in together.” 

Judy chuckles, “Pretty sure we’ve christened every surface in this place, at least twice.” 

“Mmm, doesn’t count cause we weren’t officially living together yet,” V grumbles when Judy pulls back from her neck but stops short when she’s sees the amazement shining from brown eyes. 

“We live together,” Judy whispers in awe. 

V smiles at her love, “Yeah babe, we live together.” 

Judy laughs freely as she rests their foreheads together and delicately holds V’s face in her hands, “Welcome home, V.” 

The merc kisses Judy’s inviting lips, “Anywhere with you is my home.” V lays Judy down on the couch and hovers above her, “What do you say we christen the couch first?” She raises a mischievous eyebrow and smirks widely at the techie beneath her. Judy giggles and pulls her down to connect their lips. The merc sighs deep within her heart as she thinks to herself for the first time in her life,

I am home.


	8. A day in the life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like the title says this is just a glimpse of Judy and V’s everyday life. Featuring both the highs and the lows and the constant reminder of V’s declining health.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of a block with this chapter so I hope it didn’t turn out too bad

V is woken up early this morning when she hears her holo go off, she reaches her arm across the bed to pick it up and finds a gig request from Regina. V sighs deeply not wanting to leave the safe haven of her girlfriend’s embrace, but alas her job as a mercenary can never be put on hold for long. 

Once she was showered and dressed, she prepares breakfast for herself and her sleeping girlfriend. V finishes eating her sandwich as quickly as she can and then puts the rest into the fridge. She starts a new pot of coffee for when Judy finally rises from her dead sleep. The techie has had a lot of late nights of work the past few days to make up for the ones she missed while helping to move V into their apartment. 

The merc smiles to herself thinking back to the four days that V and Judy have officially lived together. The domesticity of it all, which would’ve once had V running for the hills, now just brings her such happiness and contentment. Waking up together, sharing laidback meals, snuggling on the couch watching tv; even little man seems happier here. He’s practically staked his claim at the techie’s office window. Judy even bought him his own little table with a bed on it that she placed by the sill for him. Now the spoiled feline hardly leaves the bed unless he’s hungry or wants to snuggle with Judy while she’s working. 

Speaking of the little monster, V dishes out some of his specially ordered cat food into his bowl and he comes running out of the office. V just chuckles and shakes her head, “You’re lucky you’re cute, you know how hard it is to find cat food in this fucking city?” The merc gives little man a few scratches behind his ears before standing back up to say bye to her love. Who she probably won’t see til later today depending on the amount of gigs that get sent V’s way. The merc wants to try and get as many jobs done as she possibly can before she...V sighs pushing the foreboding thought away. 

Entering their bedroom V is greeted by the sight of her gloriously naked girlfriend. The sheet is tantalizingly wrapped around her waist, leaving her torso in full view of V’s appraising gaze. The merc will never tire of witnessing her output’s natural beauty. V has to literally shake herself out of her stupor before she risks being late to her gig. 

She kneels down next to the bed and gently lays her hand on Judy’s cheek, she strokes it with her thumb to ease her into a half wakefulness. The techie grumbles but still leans into the contact and V smirks at her cuddly girlfriend; who will forever deny that she’s a cuddler. 

Judy opens one bleary eye, “You leaving?” She asks sleepily. 

“Yeah babe, got an early gig this morning. There’s food in the fridge for you and the coffee is good to go for when you wake back up.” V scratches lightly behind the techie’s ear like she did with little man and chuckles to herself at the comparison. Her girlfriend can be just like that cat sometimes; grumpy one minute and then super cuddly the next. 

Judy clumsily grabs her hand to bring it to her mouth. She places tiny, sleepy kisses on her palm, “You’re the best, love you.” 

V’s grin brightens as she hears the words that were once scarce in her life, “And I love you baby. Go back to sleep okay?” V tucks Judy under the duvet that got pushed to the end of the bed during the night. 

“Stay safe, please?” The techie begs quietly as she slowly sinks back into unconsciousness. 

V gently brushes her lips to Judy’s forehead, not wanting to wake her again, “I’ll do my best love.” The merc takes one last look at her most important person before she moves to the end of the bed and quietly opens her weapons stash. She pulls out her knives first and straps them around her legs, then a few on her arms and even some in her boots. Next she pulls out her favorite gun, Lizzie, the pistol that was gifted to her by the Mox after she helped them out with a few gigs. Ever since V had it upgraded to her specifications she never goes on a gig without it. 

The only other weapon she will bring with her is the sub machine gun, Fenrir, that she acquired recently on a job involving Maelstrom and some kidnapped monks. While V tends to try to handle jobs quickly and quietly, she is also no stranger when it comes to head-on attacks. The merc has learned that when a job goes pear shaped you can’t leave any witnesses. Any enemy left alive, is another way that the people you love can be put in danger; and if anyone ever tried to hurt the woman she loves, V would rip them to pieces with her bare hands. 

The merc equips the last of her gear and grabs her leather jacket from where she threw it on the chair the night before. Little man walks into the room and jumps onto the bed to cuddle his favorite human. V smirks at the sight and takes a picture on her holo wanting to keep this moment with her while she’s gone. The merc has to physically remove herself from the room so she can leave the apartment and get to her gig. Everyday that she’s with Judy it gets harder and harder to leave her side for fear that V won’t be able to come back one day. 

•••

“Shit V, your girl’s gonna be fucking pissed when she sees your face,” Johnny chuckles gleefully from the passenger seat of her Javelina. 

V ignores him, too busy making sure the blood has been thoroughly cleaned from the deep gash she received on the side of her face. A jagged cut runs down from her forehead through her left eyebrow and to the middle of her cheek. In V’s experience a wound like this, and this deep, will definitely leave a scar. The first one that V has, somehow miraculously, never once received on her face. The rest of her body on the other hand, has plenty of scars that illustrates the hardships she’s endured through life. Judy always spends extra time touching and kissing the rough patches of skin, to show V that even with her scars the techie still finds her beautiful. Now V just silently hopes that Judy will think the same of this one. 

“How the fuck was I supposed to know that gonk was gonna throw his grenade at the damn gas tank?” V grumbles when she deems her face as clean as it’ll get. She had been on a gig that was as simple as any gig can get, before a dumbass gangoon thought it would be a brilliant idea to try and blow up the entire building they were fighting in. V managed to escape just as the gas tank exploded but the relic started to malfunction causing her to stumble and a piece of debris managed to knick her in the face. She got lucky that it didn’t damage one her kiroshi eyes considering it would’ve cost her a lot to fix and then she’d be even more pissed than she already is. 

After stopping at Vik’s clinic to get the wound cleaned and checked, V knew that she’d have to tell Judy right away instead of waiting til she got home later tonight. The sooner the merc met her fate the better. 

Before heading to Lizzie’s, V stopped by Tom’s diner to pick up a few burgers for herself and Judy, knowing that the techie probably hasn’t had anything to eat since this morning. When Judy is in her editing mode she tends to forget about her own needs and V has to basically drag Judy out of her office most days to make sure she eats and even just to take a mental break sometimes. The merc has had personal experience with taking breaks during an artistic project, and that it’s always better to take some space every now and then to decompress, so you can return to it with a clear mind. 

V takes a deep foreboding breath while staring at the sign for Lizzie’s bar. 

“Stop being such a pussy and just go in there already,” Johnny quips before disappearing. 

V rolls her eyes grabbing the bags of food and finally gets out of her car, “You’re the pussy.” She mutters to herself. 

The merc makes her way to the bar’s entrance and the usual bouncers are there to greet her. 

“Damn dollface, I hope you’ve got your will up to date cause Judy’s gonna kill you when she sees that,” Rita whistles under her breath. “It does look kinda sexy though, in a rugged, I could easily kick your ass kinda way.” 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Wheeler,” V grumbles at the infuriating bouncer. Rita is probably the Mox she’s closest with after Judy, considering the fact that Rita is one of Judy’s only friends in the gang. “How’s your Ma doing after her surgery?” V asks trying to quickly switch the subject. Rita had been piss drunk one night at the bar because of her mom getting sick and needing an expansive surgery that she couldn’t pay for or get the specified medication she’d need for her aftercare. V overheard her talking about it and used some of the favors that she’s owed to help Rita’s mom. The Mox bouncer almost broke down crying after V told her that she took care of everything. Rita still keeps trying to repay her in any way she can but the merc won’t let her. V knows how important it is to have family around that actually cares about you in this city. 

Rita smiles softly, “Good, really good actually. I haven’t seen her this lively since I was a kid.” 

“Well I’m glad,” the merc hands one of the bags of food over to the bouncer. “Here this is for you two, got your favorites.” 

“Seriously V, every time I think I can’t get anymore jealous of Judy, you go and do something like this,” Rita teases when she pulls out her burger and gives the second one to the other bouncer. “You sure you aren’t interested in having two outputs?” 

V shakes her head while laughing knowing Rita isn’t being serious, “Don’t let Judy hear you say that.” 

Rita chuckles, “Yeah that girl of yours sure has a temper, especially when someone makes a move on you. I still remember what she did when your number one fan got a little too friendly with you.” 

V smirks proudly remembering that time, “Yeah.” The merc sighs dreamily, “She’s so hot when she’s mad.” V’s ‘number one fan’ as Rita calls her, is a woman named Rachel, that the merc saved from being mugged one day by a couple wannabe gang members. The girl practically wouldn’t leave her side all day and would get a little too touchy even though V kept telling her she had an output and wasn’t interested. 

V then showed up at Lizzie’s hoping the Mox presence would scare her off but it only made the woman more determined to stay by the merc. Rachel became more and more of an annoyance to V, especially when the young woman kept trying to buy the merc alcohol as a thank you. No matter how many times V kept saying she didn’t drink, Rachel still kept buying her drinks that all went untouched. The whole situation made V very uncomfortable. 

One of the Mox must’ve taken pity on her and reported the situation to her girlfriend, because after the fifth offered drink the techie stormed into the main bar with murder in her eyes. V had never seen Judy so pissed before and it was a glorious sight to see. The usual softness of her brown eyes were replaced with such fury that V felt herself tremble with unbridled lust. 

Judy walked right up to V and pulled her into a kiss that still makes her toes curl when she thinks about it. The techie’s hands grabbed her ass possessively and for a half a second, V thought Judy was going to take her right there at the bar. When she pulled back from the kiss, Judy bit down so harshly at V’s bottom lip she drew blood. Rachel had such a wide-eyed embarrassed look on her face as she watched the scene in front of her. Judy looked the young woman dead in the eye and said ‘V is mine, now fuck off.’ 

Rachel must’ve finally noticed the danger in Judy’s eyes cause she immediately ran out of Lizzie’s and V hasn’t seen her since that day. After the girl was gone Judy dragged the merc down into the basement where she shoved V and fucked her right there on her desk. That night is one of the merc’s favorite memories, because it really solidified in V’s mind how much Judy wanted her. 

“Ugh get your sappy shit away from my burger,” Rita’s voice pulls V out of her daydream. “Susie is at some meeting today so you can go in through her office.” 

“Thanks Wheeler, see ya around,” V enters the bar and waves to the Mox behind the reception desk before entering Susie’s office. V quickly makes her way through not wanting to dwell too long in the devil’s lair. The dressing room is a flurry of activity as girls get ready for the night. V manages to sneak her way through not wanting to bring any attention to herself and especially to the wound on her face. V finally makes it to the basement and uses her code for Judy’s office. The door opens and just like the merc suspected, Judy is knee deep in editing. The screen of Judy’s computer shows a scene of two burly men going at it with, “Is that a firehose?” V questions out loud. 

Judy’s head springs up in fright not having noticed V come in, “Son of a bitch V, you scared the shit out of me!” The techie takes off her editing gear and turns to look at her girlfriend. Her eyes go wide when she takes in V’s face, “What the fuck happened?” She rushes up and lightly places her hands on either side of V’s face. 

The merc wraps her hands around Judy’s wrists trying to calm her girlfriend’s frantic worry, “It’s okay baby, I’m fine. It was just an accident.” 

Judy’s eyes turn to steel and V instantly regrets all her choices in life, “Just an ACCIDENT? V you’re the most careful person when it comes to gigs, accidents don’t happen with you.” The techie steps back in realization, “It was the relic wasn’t it? It malfunctioned again.” 

“I’m okay Jude, I promise,” the techie searches V’s eyes looking for any sign that the merc is lying. 

Judy sighs and then pinches the bridge of her nose, “I’m just worried all the time V.” The techie removes her hand and the merc can see the moisture build in her brown eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do if...” Her voice cracks when she can’t bring herself to finish her sentence. 

V sets their food down on the desk and then practically engulfs Judy into her arms. The techie tucks her head into V’s neck while the merc gently rocks them back and forth. “We’ll figure this out Judy. With your brains and my brawn, there’s nothing we can’t handle together.” V teases slightly trying to lighten the depressing atmosphere. 

Judy pulls back slightly, “I feel like I should be the one reassuring you right now.” 

“Maybe tomorrow,” V smiles slightly and gently kisses her forehead. 

Judy pulls her in for a proper kiss on the lips, “Let me take a look at you mi calabacita.” The techie moves V so she’s sitting on the office chair and then Judy climbs onto her lap. She pulls the merc’s face closer to her so she can examine the wound better. 

“So what’s the verdict doc?” V raises a playful eyebrow. 

“That you’re a gonk,” the techie fondly rolls her eyes while carefully inspecting the cut. “Does it still hurt?” 

“Nah, I had Vik look at it before I came here. It’s mostly superficial so it should heal pretty quickly. It’ll just leave a scar,” V apprehensively watches Judy’s reaction. 

The techie catches onto what the merc is truly worried about, “Do you think I won’t find you as attractive if there’s a scar on your face?” 

“I don’t know, maybe,” V shrugs uncertainly. 

“You truly are a gonk,” the merc pouts and Judy places light kisses alongside the wound, careful not to agitate it. “You could have a hundred scars on your face V, and I would still think you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.” 

The merc smiles shyly and buries her head into Judy’s chest to hide the blush on her face, “Sorry, it’s just hard sometimes to push back the words in my head that my mom used to say to me as a kid.” V’s mom was always insecure with her own looks, especially as the merc got older and showed signs of her own beauty. Her mother did not like that and she practically blamed V’s birth for ruining her appeal to other men. Her mother never failed to remind V everyday of her childhood that no one would ever care for her. That nobody would see her for who she truly was and that they’d only ever care for the way that she looked. 

The techie runs her fingers through V’s hair, “Another reason I want to meet this woman so I can kick her ass.” 

V chuckles and then pulls back to look Judy in her eyes, “I love you, so much.” 

Judy’s lips spread into the most beautiful smile, “As I love you.” V returns her smile and goes to kiss her love on the lips when she hears a deafening grumble come from the techie’s stomach. The merc laughs loudly at the embarrassed look on her face. Judy hits her shoulder playfully, “Oh shut up, I haven’t eaten since this morning.” 

V chuckles and grabs the bag from the desk and places it in front of Judy, “Which is why I picked up some food before I got here.” 

Judy snatches it from her hand and digs through the bag for a burger. She removes one from the bag and takes a huge bite while moaning in satisfaction. 

“Damn babe, and here I thought I was the only one that could make you sound like that,” V clenches her legs together as she eats her own burger and she watches Judy tease her with more moans as she eats. 

The both finish their food and the techie makes a show of licking the grease off her fingers, “You jealous mi calabacita?” 

V smirks devilishly, “Well if I remember correctly, the last time you made noises like that in this very spot, it was you who was the jealous one.” 

Judy scoffs and rolls her eyes, “Please I was not jealous of that stalker woman.” 

“You sure?” V leans in and places her lips against Judy’s ear and whispers huskily, “Cause I remember you staking your claim by bending me over this very desk and then fucking me til I screamed your name.” 

Judy’s nails bite into the skin of V’s shoulders as she groans breathily, “Fuck V you’re such a tease.” 

“It’s not being a tease if I follow through,” the merc kisses down to Judy’s pulse point and sucks lightly so as not to leave a mark. 

Judy holds V’s head in place, “Can’t, have to-fuck!” The techie moans when V uses her thigh to put pressure between Judy’s legs. “I have to finish this last BD—“ The techie pulls V back from her assault on Judy’s neck. Judy takes in a few deep breaths to calm her arousal. “If I don’t finish this BD soon I’ll end up stuck here all night and I wanna take my time with you.” 

V’s hands absentmindedly caress the skin of Judy’s back as she tries to rein in her lust, “You’re torturing me woman.” 

“I’ll make it up to you later,” Judy smirks as she toys with a strand of the merc’s raven hair. 

“And how will you do that?” V takes the techie’s hand and nips lightly at her fingers. 

Judy breathes heavily when V takes two of her fingers into her mouth and then drags them out slowly, “I’ve got a few ideas, but if you keep that up you won’t be seeing any of them.” The merc chuckles at her girlfriend’s threat. If there’s one thing that V loves about her relationship with Judy it’s that the techie always keeps her on her toes. Whether it be with sex or with everyday life, Judy always manages to surprise her, and V can’t get enough of her beautiful output. 

“Alright, alright, I can be a good girl and wait,” the merc gives the techie a not-so innocent look. 

Judy chuckles at her cheekiness and stands up from V’s lap, “Go on get out of here so I can get some work done.” The merc stands up keeping some distance between herself and Judy, not trusting her own self restraint. “And no more gigs for you today. I want you to go straight home and rest.” The techie uses her stern voice that does not help quell V’s arousal one bit. 

“Yes ma’am,” V smirks at the smoldering look in Judy’s eyes. 

“You are insufferable,” The techie huffs as she pulls V into a hasty lust-filled kiss and then pushes her through the office doors that then shut in V’s face. The merc laughs joyfully and follows her output’s orders to go home and rest. 

•••

In the wee hours of the morning V comes to to the feeling of gentle kisses on her face. She mumbles under her breath as her girlfriend slowly wakes her up. “Mmm, what time is it?” She asks resizing she’s still on the couch where she instantly fell asleep after she arrived home. 

“Late, come on mi calabacita, let’s get to bed,” Judy clumsily helps a sleepy V off the couch and toward their bedroom. 

Judy sets V down onto the bed and strips out of her clothes, “Is this when I get my surprise?” The merc flirts but can barely keep her eyes open. 

The techie just chuckles as she gets in bed with the merc who’s already halfway back to sleep. “Maybe in the morning, go back to sleep baby.” 

“Mmkay,” V whispers as she pulls her love into her chest, “love you.” 

“Love you too,” Judy whispers back and intertwines their legs. V sighs deeply at the feeling of safety that enters her heart knowing the woman she loves is in her arms. V could get used to a life like this, a life where her and Judy can go to sleep every night in each others embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I added a reason for V having the Lizzie gun instead of her basically stealing it like you do in the game. 
> 
> I also really wanted to add Rita into this story somehow cause I’m high-key disappointed she wasn’t a bigger character in the game. 
> 
> So I feel like I’m gettin braver with the more sensual parts of my story. Let me know if you guys want me to spice it up more or tone it back down. Still probably won’t do any full smut scenes cause I want this story to be more about their love and the plot than about the sex.


	9. Johnny takes over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and V deal with the aftermath of Johnny’s night out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is kind of a fix-it chapter. I changed a little of what really happens in the game. Not sure if anyone else was bothered by this part of the game or if it was just me but I really didn’t like how they pretty much brushed over this part. Johnny basically does what he wants with V’s body and then it’s barely acknowledged other than a few comments. It just really bothered me so I wanted to delve deeper into this part especially with the ramifications of if V is already in a relationship with someone in the game at this point and Johnny almost causing them to cheat on that person. Which is also not talked about. 
> 
> Anyway I’ll put a trigger warning for this chapter for drug/alcohol withdrawal 
> 
> Also for those of you who really wanted to see more sexy stuff I gave it my best shot. So warning for smut at the end as well, the scene is very short as It’s my first time writing it and may also be my last cause that shit made me way too nervous lol

“Fuck, fuck V! Pick up! Pick up!” Judy curses as another call to the merc’s holo goes to her machine. “V where the fuck are you? I’m seriously starting to get worried.. please V call me back..please.” The techie ends her message and paces back and forth in her living room trying to figure out her next steps. The merc left on her gonk request for Johnny last night and still hasn’t returned. It’s been almost a day and Judy is seriously starting to worry. 

“What would V do?” She repeats to herself over and over. The techie groans loudly when the only thought that keeps popping in her head is that V would most likely do something gonkish if it was her that was missing. “My reckless gonk, ugh I could use your help right now...” That’s when an idea hits Judy and she almost wants to smack herself for inhabiting too much of her output’s gonk brain when she should be using her own to find V. 

Judy opens her contacts on her holo and dials a familiar number, the person answers almost immediately, “Fuck Judy you’ve got amazing timing, I was just about to call you.” Panam’s face is scrunched with worry on her holo screen. 

“You’ve got news about V?” Hope belies Judy’s voice. 

Pan sighs deeply and Judy only now notices that the nomad is driving when she hears her honk the horn of her Thornton and yell at another driver. “I’m five minutes out from yours and V’s place, I’m coming to get you.” 

“What about V?” The nomad averts her gaze from Judy. “Pan?” Her lips tremble as she goes unanswered. 

“It’s not good Judy,” Panam finally whispers. The techie’s heart falls into the depths of her stomach. “I’m almost there, meet me outside. I’ll tell you more on the way to V.” The nomad hangs up and Judy doesn’t allow herself to hesitate as she runs out of her place to the front of her building. Not a moment later she hears the familiar purr of Panam’s Thornton rumble down the street and barely stop as Judy jumps into the passenger seat and the truck takes off again. 

“Where is she?” Judy asks immediately not even bothering to buckle herself into the seat. With the way her hands are shaking it would probably be impossible anyway. “Tell me what you know.. please.”

“Cheap ass hotel down on Martin street, it’s not far so we’ll be there soon,” the nomad swerves expertly through traffic, flicking off other drivers as she goes. “I got a call earlier from the ice bitch Rogue herself, about V’s whereabouts. She told me about Johnny’s night out and that it would be a good idea for me to go to V considering the shape she was in. The last thing she said before she hung up was that she was surprised V was even alive after a night of the way that Johnny parties.” The nomad’s hands clench the steering wheel turning her knuckles white. Judy takes deep breathes through her mouth trying to quell the queasiness in her stomach. Before Judy can ask Panam to elaborate on what Johnny did the nomad announces that they’ve arrived. 

Panam whips her truck into a parking spot, not even caring if it’s in the lines and both girls jump out. “Which room?” Judy asks. 

“This way, second floor, room 1236,” Pan runs up a flight of stairs with the techie following close behind her. They pass by a few doors until they find room 1236. “Here it is, fuck it’s locked.” The nomad curses when the door doesn’t open. 

“Let me try,” Judy moves in front of the door to assess it. “V taught me a little about hacking. A place like this shouldn’t be too hard to break into,” the techie mentally repeats the steps her merc taught her on how to lockpick doors. Her heart thunders in her chest at being so close to her love. She releases a shaky breath when the red light on the door turns to green after she successfully hacks the door, “It’s open.” 

They both rush into the room when the door whooshes open only to stumble at the sight and smell of the place. “Ugh this place fucking reeks,” Panam covers her her nose and mouth and almost retches at the odor in the air. 

“V!” Judy shouts when she sees a lump on a bed in the corner of the room. The body in the bed is facedown and barely moving. The techie runs over barely avoiding the vomit pooled onto the floor by the bed. Her merc’s face is covered by her greasy black hair, and the clothes that V is wearing are either torn to shreds or stained in who knows what. Judy’s heart breaks at the sight of her love in such a state, the only reason she isn’t losing it entirely is the fact that she can see the slight rise and fall of V’s chest. Her hands shake terribly when she gently lifts V’s head to get a good look at her face. She gasps in horrified shock when she notices the cuts and bruises that adorn her merc’s face, but the most worrisome thing that she notices is her pallor and the sweat that builds on V’s skin. “Fuck..”

Panam’s voice behind Judy causes her to jump slightly having forgotten she was there in her worry for V, “Is she-?” The nomad’s voice cracks as she steps closer to the bed. 

Judy smooths some of V’s hair out of her face, the merc doesn’t even twitch at the movement. “She’s alive, but you were right that it’s bad. We need to get her out of here, now. Help me with her,” Judy slings one of V’s arms around her shoulders while the nomad grabs the other. They both struggle to hold up the merc’s body weight as they slowly drag her unconscious body out of the decrepit hotel room. 

It takes them many tries to figure out the safest way to carry V down the stairs. They end up doing it the old fashioned way with one of them holding her legs while the other holds her upper torso with the merc’s back against their front; Judy ends up taking V’s torso. By the time they make it to the truck both girls are sweating profusely from the weight and the added heat from the sun as it beats down upon them. 

Judy leans back against the bed of the truck while the nomad opens the door to the back seat, “Okay pass V to me and you get in first,” The techie silently agrees with this plan and passes her merc into Pan’s arms. “Jesus V, what’d that bastard do to you?” The other woman whispers when she gets a closer look at her friend’s face. Judy quickly climbs into the back and reaches out her arms for her girl. Panam shifts her back into the techie’s grip and then picks up V’s legs again. “Okay you pull, I’ll push,” Judy nods and pulls V as far into the truck as she can. Panam ends up having to fold the merc’s legs as her body is too long to fit fully into the back. 

“Grab that empty bucket over there,” Judy points towards a pile of junk on the ground of the parking lot. “We’ll need it in case V wakes up during the drive.” 

“Yeah good idea,” Pan quickly grabs the bucket and hands it to Judy before closing the door and hopping onto the driver seat. “What now? Where should I go?” 

Judy carefully rests V’s head into her lap so she can keep an eye on her output’s symptoms, “Head back to my place, I can take care of her there.” 

The nomad listens to Judy’s advise and peals out of hotel parking lot all the while looking concerned, “Shouldn’t she go to a hospital?” 

“Most hospitals would only kick her out when the realize what’s wrong with her rather than use their precious supplies to help her,” The bitterness in Judy’s voice isn’t hard to miss. 

“What is wrong with her?” 

The techie’s sigh is layered with unkempt emotions, “She’s going through withdrawal.” Judy tries to wipe some of the blood from off of V’s face but ultimately fails. The days old cut on the merc’s face has been reopened as blood lazily trickles out of it. 

“Withdrawal? Doesn’t that only happen to addicts? V doesn’t use drugs, I mean fuck she hardly even drinks!” Panam shouts in disbelief. 

“No she doesn’t, but Johnny does,” Judy’s hatred for the man grows by the second. “And while normally I would agree with you, we have no way of knowing how much drugs he may have taken last night; and with V’s body having such a low tolerance it’s experiencing the same symptoms that an addict’s would in withdrawal.” 

The nomad curses so profusely that even Judy is impressed, “If that fucker wasn’t in V’s head and already dead I’d fucking kill him.” 

Judy doesn’t reply as she herself is already thinking up ways in order to make the bastard suffer for what he’s done to the woman she loves. As the techie’s mind goes deeper into vengeful thoughts she doesn’t notice Panam park in the back of her apartment complex. The door opening next to her finally snaps her back into the present, “Alright let’s get her inside.” 

Carrying V out of the truck and up the stairs was much easier for the women now that they had a decent method figured out. Once inside the apartment, Judy meanders them towards the bedroom so they can lay V out on the bed. “I need to get her out these clothes, could you go into the bathroom and get me some towels. Also grab some Real Water from the fridge? We need to keep V as hydrated as possible.” 

“I’m on it,” the nomad rushes out of the room to get the needed items, leaving Judy to strip the ruined clothing from the mercenary. Every piece that is removed reveals more abuse to the girl’s body, including the new tattoo on the merc’s arm. The techie’s ire at the ex-rocker rises and wishes she can strangle him for what he’s done. Judy can only imagine what V will think of it considering the woman is particular about her ink. The serpent that wraps around her output’s torso is the techie’s favorite of V’s tattoos. Judy has spent many a night admiring, tracing, and borderline worshipping the inked lines. 

While changing V’s clothes, Judy’s mind keeps having flashes of doing this same thing for Evelyn, only a few months ago. The techie roughly shakes her head trying to clear the memory away. She will not let history repeat itself. A nagging, worrying thought has Judy hesitating before removing V’s underwear, not wishing to know her unanswered question but also needing to know for the merc’s sake. The underwear itself is cleaner than the rest of V’s clothing which is a good sign, Judy removes it and then releases a relieved breath seeing no signs of recent sexual activity. “Oh thank fuck,” she whispers to herself and puts a new, clean pair of underwear on V. The only other item of clothing the techie puts on the merc is an oversized t-shirt knowing when V wakes she will most likely start sweating uncontrollably. 

A gentle throat clearing grabs her attention, Judy turns around seeing the nomad with her arms clad with the supplies. “I got everything you asked for, figured I’d give you a few minutes to check her over in private. Also went and grabbed that bucket just in case.” Pan places the items on the leather chair by the bed, “Is she-? I mean did he-?” Judy understands what the nomad can’t bring herself to ask her. 

“I checked, as far as I can tell he didn’t,” while there may not be signs on V herself, it doesn’t mean that Johnny didn’t do anything to someone else. The thought makes Judy want to simultaneously puke her guts out and scream madly into the ether. 

The nomad drops down onto the arm of the chair in relief, “Thank fuck for small miracles.” Pan watches Judy as she grabs her first aid kit to get started on cleaning the reopened wound on V’s face. “You seem to have experience with this kind of thing.” The nomad says offhandedly. 

Judy flinches slightly at the comment, “I really wish that I didn’t.” She replies bitterly. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Pan’s words are genuinely apologetic and Judy feels guilty for being snappish at the woman. 

The techie sighs deeply, “No I’m sorry, it’s just this whole situation is dredging up bad memories for me.” Judy cleans away any dirt and blood from V’s face revealing a bruised nose, probably from a fist, and a couple scratches along her temple. “A friend of mine, Evelyn, she was in this same position not too long ago, and I-I couldn’t save her.” Judy keeps her attention on the merc not wanting to see the pity that must be on the nomad’s face at her revelation. 

“One thing that I’ve learned since being in this city is that sometimes people can’t be saved,” Judy looks up at her words and instead of seeing pity she sees an open honesty that the techie has never seen on the nomad. “But after meeting V, I also learned that sometimes there are people worth fighting for.” 

Judy smiles slightly feeling a new sense of kinship with the other woman, “V is lucky to have you as a friend.” 

“I’m the lucky one, never really had a best friend before, especially not one that is a woman,” Pan chuckles. “Not sure if you’ve noticed but I can be a tad brash and violent. Scares a lot of people away.” 

“Brash and violent? You? I never would’ve guessed,” Judy teases. 

“Ha ha, I’ll have you know V has told me a few stories about your more temperamental moments. Gotta say if I wasn’t straight, you’d be a woman after my own heart,” Pan winks flirtatiously and Judy just shakes her head fondly in exasperation. 

“V had mentioned you could be an awful tease, especially after you two first met,” Before Judy had met Panam she was extremely jealous of the relationship that V and the nomad shared. The merc always referred to the nomad as a sister but Judy couldn’t help the nagging insecurity that popped up now and again. It wasn’t until the techie had met Panam and saw for herself how very much not-gay she is that her jealously went away. 

The nomad laughs quietly, “Yeah I knew when we first met that V was very gay, I mean you’ve seen what she wears right?” Judy chuckles in agreement, her love does always tend to go for the leather jacket and combat boots look. Those combo of clothes are practically claimed as a lesbian stereotype. “I mostly teased her as a test, I didn’t understand why she kept helping me for no reason. Thought maybe she was just trying to get in my pants but every tease I made she never took further; only made me more confused by her motives. Took me awhile to realize that her helping me is just a part of who she is, she always wants to help people even if it bites her in ass,” Panam casts her eyes back onto the unconscious merc. “Johnny has no idea what he’s done by doing this to her, does he?” 

“No, no he doesn’t. I’d like to think he wouldn’t have if he did, but he’s a selfish douchbag, and a man, you can never trust their intentions,” Judy’s hatred for Johnny is thick in her voice. 

“What was V and Johnny’s plan exactly? Rogue only gave me the bare minimum of info, the fucking bitch,” Panam mutters the last part to herself. 

Judy cleans out the cut on V’s face and then gently adds a healing cream overtop of it to stop the bleeding and keep it from getting infected, “Johnny had asked V awhile back for a favor. He wanted her to get revenge on the man that killed him and he wanted to do it with Rogue, since she was there when he died. The catch was that the only way Rogue would even believe that Johnny was in V’s head is if he was in control and convinced her himself.” The techie tosses the now dirty towels aside once V has been cleaned as well as she can be. 

“Well that’s a stupid fucking idea,” Judy scoffs in agreement at the nomad’s remark. 

The techie picks up her love’s hand and strokes it with her thumb, “I told V the same thing last night, but it’s like you said, she always wants to help people; and this time it more than bit her in the ass.” Both girls flinch when V starts groaning loudly. “Shit, hand me the bucket,” Judy holds out her free hand and Panam passes it over from the chair. 

V’s eyes scrunch open slightly, “Jude?” The merc’s voice cracks with overuse and exhaustion. 

Judy leans over into V’s line of sight, “Hey mi calabacita,” she gently strokes the merc’s cheek, “How are you feeling?” 

“Not good,” V mumbles, “Gonna be sick.” Judy quickly pulls the merc’s head towards the bucket just as she empties her stomach contents, or what’s left of it at this point. 

“You’re okay baby,” Judy soothes her output as she continues to be sick. “You’re okay.” 

V sags bonelessly back onto the bed taking in deep stuttering breaths after the violent gags stopped, “Wha-what happened?” 

Judy moves the bucket’s foul contents as far from them as possible, then brings her attention back onto her vulnerable merc, “Johnny happened.” 

Something seems to flash in V’s eyes causing her to freeze in place, “I-I remember bits and pieces.” Tears start to fall down her face. “Why did he do that?” V meets Judy’s concerned eyes and the merc loses all control of her emotions. She fully weeps as hiccuping sobs escape her lips. The techie pulls V into her arms and the broken girl latches tightly onto her, “I’m so sorry, I’m so fucking sorry.” 

Judy rocks her slightly not wanting to make the girl sick again, “It wasn’t you V, that person wasn’t you.” 

V cries into Judy’s shoulder and the techie is sure she’ll have bruises where the merc’s hands are clutching her, “Please don’t leave me.” 

Judy’s heart breaks at the girl’s begging, “Oh V, no one is going anywhere okay?” Judy holds her as close to her body as she can and places soft kisses on V’s head on her shoulder. “I’m not leaving you.” She whispers and continues to rock the girl a few more minutes until the merc falls into an unsteady sleep. 

Judy keeps on holding her, as a reminder to both herself and V that they will get through this together. The techie moves her gaze to the uncommonly quiet girl still sitting on the chair. Panam’s face seems pensive as if she’s in a deeply troubled thought. “Everything okay?” Judy asks her. 

The nomad frowns deeply before sighing, “Yeah it’s just, I’ve never seen her like this before is all.” 

“V doesn’t like to show people her weaker side, especially people she cares about. She always wants to be the strong one, the protector, but that also comes with its own weight upon her shoulders.” Over the course of Judy and V’s relationship the merc has had nightmares most nights, there are also some nights where she can’t even sleep at all because of her constant worry that something will go wrong and she won’t be able to stop it. Judy believes that once they leave this city behind, V can also leave behind the weight that she carries around with her everyday. 

“She’s a gonk if she thinks she always has to be strong,” Judy snorts at Panam’s words. 

“In that we agree,” Both girls smile slightly in levity. “Do you have to go back to your clan?” 

The nomad shakes her head, “Nah I texted Saul and Mitch a while back to let them know to only contact me in case of an emergency. I didn’t want you to have to take care of V alone.” 

“Thanks Panam,” Judy says with as much gratitude as she possibly can. 

The other woman shrugs in slight embarrassment, “I mean that’s what family’s for right? They stick around to help when things go to shit.” 

Judy smiles contentedly, thinking about the word family applying to the three of them, “Yeah, I guess it is.” 

•••

It takes two long days for V to finally recover from Johnny’s night out. The first night she spent with her head mostly in a bucket and with Judy patiently coaxing the merc to drink some water in between bouts of puking so she didn’t get dehydrated. The second day V can barely even remember, as she spent most of it either in delusions or having excruciating nightmares as she slept. She couldn’t remember what they were about when she’d get ripped out of them, only that she’d desperately reach out for Judy and wouldn’t let go until the techie managed to calm her down. 

It isn’t until the third day when V wakes up in the morning that she feels somewhat like her normal self. Her body is sore and her head pounds with a burgeoning headache; but overall she feels okay. V looks at the exhausted woman sleeping next to her and is consumed with such love. She reaches over and tucks Judy’s hair behind her ear leaving her face in full view. There are dark bags under her eyes and her skin is paler than V’s ever seen it. The techie’s worry is displayed in the creases of her forehead even as she sleeps. V carefully runs her thumb over them, soothing her love as she sleeps. “I don’t deserve you,” V whispers, tears thick in her voice. Judy spent two whole days taking care of the merc as she felt like death incarnate. She held V’s hair as she vomited, she whispered sweet nothings in her ear when she woke from nightmares. She constantly reminded V of who she was and where she was when the merc’s delusions kept bringing her back to dark places from her past. “I love you so much,” V places a soft kiss on Judy’s forehead before slowly sitting up in bed. 

Johnny is leaning in the doorway with an expression that V’s never seen on him before, it almost looks like regret, “Glad to see you’re finally up.” 

V’s face hardens with a steely determination, “We need to talk.” The merc carefully gets up to put on some clean clothes and quickly washes her face and teeth in the sink in the room. V writes out a quick note to Judy letting her know that her and Johnny went to have a talk so the girl doesn’t freak too much at waking up alone. She places the note on V’s side of the bed and then places another kiss on Judy’s head. V stands back up and locks eyes with the ex-rocker, “Let’s go.” 

•••

V’s legs dangle over the edge of the dock, she takes in deep breaths of fresh air, cleansing herself of the past few days. Johnny sits uncharacteristically silent a few feet away from her, V can barely even look at him now that she’s here. In the one place where Judy and V feel safest, the same place where they made love for the first time. The merc needed to be as far away from the city as possible for this conversation, but she also still needed to feel close to Judy in someway; and what better place to do that then here. 

Johnny shifts slightly, not used to being still for long periods of time, “Look V, I fucked up okay? I didn’t think about what would happen to you after what I did.” 

V scoffs, “That’s exactly your problem Johnny, you never think, you only ever take and take and fuck everyone else who gets in your way.” She turns to the ex-rocker, “You still don’t get it Johnny. I don’t give a shit what you did to me, I care about what you almost made me do to Judy.” Heat rises in V’s veins as she finally unleashes her rage, “You know what she fucking means to me! Judy is my everything Johnny! My fucking reason for living! I would’ve given up long ago if it wasn’t for her! And you almost made me cheat on her!” V has risen from her seated position to yell down at the man who almost ruined her whole life, “Tell me Johnny, if that car hadn’t crashed you would have slept with that stripper knowing I would rather die than touch anyone that wasn’t Judy, wouldn’t you?”

“You already know the answer to that V,” Johnny lights a cigarette, not daring to look V’s way. 

“Answer the fucking question,” the merc seethes at Johnny’s cowardice. 

Johnny flickers so he’s standing in front of her, “Fuck yes I would’ve slept with her! I mean can you fucking blame me? I’ve basically been in a prison for 50 years and you expect me to just waste my one get out of jail free card?” V’s face must show her disappointment as Johnny throws his hands up in the air in defeat and walks away to the other side of the dock. “Look kid, I’m sorry I fucked up. I just wanted to few alive again.” 

“Yeah just at the expense of my own,” V can feel that what Johnny says is sincere but her anger won’t easily go away just by a few words. “I will never forgive you for this Johnny. I don’t know if I can even trust you again after what you did.” V watches Johnny place his aviators on his face to cover his eyes, she’s learned that this is his way of guarding himself. “We will still work together to get this thing out of my head but I’ll never forget about this.” 

“Do what you gotta do kid,” he sighs out smoke from his mouth before disappearing. V doesn’t want to take the risk that he’ll pop up again anytime soon so she downs one of her blockers just in case. 

V sits back down again on the edge of the dock, she then drops her head onto her knees and wraps her arms around legs. This is the same position she used to sit in a lot as a kid, it was the only way she felt like she could drown out the world and not feel the constant worries that plagued her. She doesn’t know how long she’s in that position before she hears someone take a seat next to her. V doesn’t lift her head, already knowing in her heart who it is. 

“Thought I’d find you here,” Judy’s familiar husky voice lulls V into a sense of peace that she couldn’t find on her own. “Did you say everything you needed to?” 

V lifts her head only to lay it back down on Judy’s shoulder, “Yeah, I think so,” the merc sighs tiredly, “I’m sorry you have to deal with all of this, you deserve better than me.”

Judy lifts V’s head up so she can look directly into the merc’s green eyes, “Why don’t you let me decide what I think I deserve huh? I don’t want you to feel any of this guilt nonsense, none of what happened was your fault. I know that and so should you.” 

“Easier said than done,” V holds onto Judy’s hands and brings them into her lap. The merc looks down upon them not wanting to meet Judy’s eyes when she says, “Johnny almost-“ V squeezes her eyes shut as tears threaten to escape. “He was going to take someone to the hotel-if the car hadn’t of crashed..” 

Judy uses a single finger to raise her chin so she can meet V’s eyes, “Would you ever cheat on me?” 

The merc’s eyes widen in shock at the question, “No! I would never fucking do that to you! I’d rather cut off my own hands than touch anyone that wasn’t you Jude.” The techie smiles softly at V’s answer. 

“I know, and do you know how I know that?” V shakes her head. “When you gave me your BD, you opened a pathway straight into your heart V. I saw and felt everything that’s inside of it and it was...it meant everything to me. I know you would never hurt me that way because I felt your commitment, I felt your love and your pain, your hate and anger. I felt it all V. I know who you are and you are not him.” 

A few tears leak form V’s eyes, “I’m always afraid that you’ll leave. That he will do something—or I will do something that’ll push you too far and you’ll disappear.” Judy wipes the tears from her face. 

“I’m not going anywhere V, no matter what happens. I love you too much to lose you,” Judy cups the merc’s face and pulls her into a kiss. V melts into her touch and quietly moans at the tongue that breaches her lips. Judy’s hands move into V’s hair and is placed at the back of her head to pull her closer. The merc’s breath grows heavy with want as her lips never once leaving Judy’s. The techie is the first to break their contact and leans their foreheads together so they can catch their breath, “Let’s go inside.” 

It doesn’t take the two of them long to enter the small bungalow and once inside they shed their clothes in a hurry. Luckily the bed is already pulled out from where it usually resides within the couch. Judy pushes V onto the bed when they are both completely naked and straddles the merc’s waist. She grabs V’s hands and holds them down by her head, “This body doesn’t belong to him, and it doesn’t belong to you either. It belongs to me,” Judy’s pupils are blown wide at having the merc at her mercy. “Only I can touch you like this,” the techie leans down to kiss V hungrily. The merc moans into the kiss and reciprocates with equal ferocity. When Judy pulls her intoxicating lips away V tries to chase after them only to be pushed back down, “Only I can kiss you, and only I can make love to you. This body is mine to do whatever I want with it,” Judy finally releases her hold on V’s hands and the merc immediately places them on the techie’s hips. “And right now, I want to fuck you until you see stars.”

V moans loudly gripping Judy closer to her, “Please, please Judy.” She begs the sexy woman sitting on top of her. V has never once in her life before Judy ever begged a woman to touch her. The merc always used to refer to herself as a giver in bed. V was always the one in control, and she hardly ever wanted another woman to reciprocate their touch. To the merc, being the one on the receiving side of sex, felt too vulnerable and she hardly ever trusted another woman enough to do that; but with Judy everything was different. V believes it is because her and Judy built a foundation of trust before they even slept together. That combined with the fact that the merc was falling madly in love with her allowed for V to openly embrace Judy’s touch. It was the first time during sex that V felt truly safe with another person in her bed. Now V can hardly stand not being touched by her girl, she craves everything that Judy is willing to give to her. Her love, her affection, it’s everything that V never wanted before but now can’t live without. 

Judy sexily bites her lip at V’s pleas, “Don’t worry mi amor, I won’t leave you wanting for long.” The techie’s hands trace along the lines of V’s serpent tattoo, and the merc can’t help but smirk at the girl’s lust for her ink. Judy catches the look on her face and pinches V’s left nipple in retaliation. V groans at the slight pain and can’t help the chuckle that escapes her lips. Judy raises her eyebrow in challenge and the merc knows she’s in for it now. The techie leans down and takes her other nipple into her teeth, biting down as hard as she knows V likes. The merc moans loudly and starts unconsciously rocking her hips when Judy places a full on assault on V’s breasts. She can hardly keep track of the girl’s lips, teeth, and tongue as V is consumed by her rising libido. 

“Fuck,” V grabs onto Judy’s head and brings her into an earth shattering kiss. The techie’s hands wander down V’s torso as their tongues battle for dominance. V already knows that Judy will win because she loves when Judy wins. “Please Jude, please–fuck!” She shouts in ecstasy when two of Judy’s fingers enter her needing no preparation considering how wet the merc is. They lock eyes as the techie starts thrusting into her. V wraps her legs around Judy bringing her weight upon the hand between her legs. “More baby please,” the merc begs needing just a bit more to push her over the edge. Judy complies by adding a third finger inside V, and the merc groans loudly at the stretch. 

“That’s it mi calabacita, you’re so close aren’t you?” Judy starts to curl her fingers inside of V, hitting that spot that always makes her scream. 

“Yes! Don’t stop!” V’s hips meet Judy’s thrusts. “So close, so close, so close,” V pulls Judy closer needing to feel the techie’s skin against hers when she lets go. 

Judy’s thumb moves to rub V’s clit and she whispers into the merc’s ear, “Cum for me V.” V screams Judy’s name and almost blacks out as she’s pushed over the edge. The techie slowly works her through it while peppering her face with kisses. The merc’s chest moves rapidly as she tries to gain back her breath after her love just shattered her so quickly. Judy gently removes her fingers wiping them on the sheet so she brush away the sweaty hair from V’s forehead. Her brown eyes shine with happiness and the lingering lust they both still feel. “Only I can do that to you,” she smirks devilishly and V laughs for the first time in days. 

“Why don’t you do it again?” V asks with her own smirk and Judy immediately agrees. All night they happily reaffirm to one another that it’s only the other’s touch that they want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point on there will be a few tweaks I’ll be changing from the game canon to fit where I want this story to go. It’s only like one or two more things and they are pretty small (kind of). I’ll also be adding some of my own original characters that I’ve been working on for awhile so look out for that as well.


	10. The kid pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V meets a kid that she becomes protective of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This introduces one of my original characters and is going to be split into two parts. 
> 
> As always thanks so much for reading this story, it’s made me feel so much more confident in my writing than I’ve ever been before. And I love all your comments, sorry if I don’t reply to all of them I’m very awkward with that kind of thing

The bustling of the chaotic streets of Night City serve as background noise for the two lovers. They had just gone out to their favorite ramen place for a late lunch date before Judy has to go back into work to finish up the last of a few BDs that she’s been working on the past two days. V herself has been working gigs while waiting on a call from Rogue to see if she’s got any information on Adam Smasher’s whereabouts. While Johnny and V’s camaraderie has hit a snag in the form of broken trust, the merc is still going to keep her word and exact revenge on the borg for Johnny’s sake. 

Currently her and Judy are walking down the busy streets of NC to drop the techie off at Lizzie’s for work. V also has one more gig she has to take care of before she can call it a day. The techie has already promised that she’ll try to finish as quickly as she can so she won’t be stuck in her office all night. V holds onto her girl’s hand as they walk, Judy normally hates public displays of affection but even the techie can’t deny her need to be as close to her love as she can be before having to separate. 

When the building for Lizzie’s comes into view V notices a commotion happening on the other side of the street. Three cops are chasing down a teenage girl. Everyone else just ignores it and goes about their day, but not V. She can’t help but want to fuck over the cops and help this kid get away. She can remember being that age herself and being in that very same position; except no one ever helped her get away, she always had to manage on her own. 

“You want to help that kid don’t you?” Judy knowingly asks her and V gives her a sheepish smile. “Go on, I’ll make it the rest of the way on my own.” The merc smiles brightly and places a quick kiss on Judy’s cheek. 

“Love ya babe, call me when you’re done with work,” V takes off down the street but not before she sees Judy’s fond headshake out of the corner of her eye. The techie knows how much the merc loves to fuck with cops and ruin their day; Judy even helps her on some occasions. The techie claims it’s payback for the fire truck incident. 

V utilizes her optics to follow the kid’s trail which leads her down a narrow alleyway. The merc decides on taking higher ground for a better view of the situation and runs up a nearby flight of emergency stairs. Once on the roof of the building she jumps across, using her reinforced tendons to boost her from rooftop to rooftop. V catches up quickly to where the kid has a pretty good distance lead from the cops still on her tail. The merc watches impressed as the girl practically parkours her way through the alley; jumping over boxes, leaping through narrow gaps, but in the girl’s haste she doesn’t see the wall blocking her path that V can spot from her vantage point. 

V takes off again towards the wall, she beats the girl there using her cyberware as an advantage and drops down on top of it, “Hey kid!” She shouts out and the girl’s head snaps up in shock, “Up here.” V reaches her hand down and the girl hesitates while looking behind her at the cops who are about to catch up. 

“Fuck,” the girl cusses and then jumps up to grab V’s arm. The merc easily hauls her over the wall and the both of them jump down to the ground on the other side. A few seconds later they can hear the cops curse loudly on the other side of the wall, followed by their retreating footsteps. 

“Let’s get out of here,” V suggests but the girl seems at odds on what she should do now. Her green eyes squint at the merc suspiciously, “Hey, it’s alright if you don’t want to come with me. I just really hate cops, figured I’d help you out.”

“I didn’t need help. I could’ve outrun them on my own y’know,” the girl huffs and crosses her arms. 

V snorts in amusement, “Oh I don’t doubt it kid, you had some pretty impressive moves back there.” 

The girl straightens her spine and practically puffs her chest out in pride, “I’m the best runner and climber in my whole clan.” The girl’s green eyes fill with sadness as she deflates. “I mean I was,” she mutters subduedly to herself. 

“Ah, so you’re a nomad kid. Are you from the Aldecados? I don’t think I’ve seen you there before,” The girl looks at V strangely. 

“You’re a nomad?” The skepticism in the kids voice is very apparent. 

V just laughs having heard Panam make many a joke about V’s attire and how she sticks out like a sore thumb when she’s in camp with the clan. “Nah, I was born and survived right here in the city but I am good friends with the Aldecados. My best friend is one of their leaders.” 

“Wow, I’ve always heard the Aldecados were pretty strict about not letting outsiders into the family.”

V shrugs, “Yeah well when you kill a bunch of Raffens and steal some shit from Militech together it kinda bonds you for life.” The merc takes a closer look at the younger girl and notices the state of wear she is in. Her shirt is filthy, her jeans are practically tearing at the seams, and her shoes look to be about a decade old from how worn out they are. A baseball cap covers greasy black, shoulder length hair and her tanned skin is bruised and covered in scratches. All in all, the young girl looks like she’s been through the ringer and V can feel that familiar itch she gets when she desperately wants to help someone. “Which clan are from then? If you don’t mind me asking?” 

The girl gets that suspicious look in her eyes again, “Why do you care?” 

V raises her hands placatingly, “I just know what it’s like to be lost and alone in this city. I just want to help is all, but if you want me to leave just say the word and I’m gone.” 

The black haired girl stares into V’s eyes, and the merc feels a tinge of familiarity in her gut. V ignores it considering it makes no sense. The young girl sighs after seeing the truth in the merc’s eyes, “Sorry, I just haven’t met any nice people since I’ve been here.” 

“It’s okay kid, believe me I know how shitty the people in this city are. Are you-?” V is interrupted by the girl’s howling stomach. The girl flushes in embarrassment and presses her hands onto her abdomen as if to silence the noise. “Hungry?” V asks without teasing, getting a flashback to the times when she was the starving kid living off the streets. 

“Yeah,” the girl pinches her lips together, “it’s why those cops were chasing me. I tried to steal from a food vendor, got caught.” She huffs out defeatedly. 

V takes a moment before asking, “You like pizza?” The girl’s eyes light up with barely contained hope. “C’mon kid, let’s get you some food.” 

•••

“Easy there kid, the food isn’t going anywhere,” V chuckles as she watches the girl shove her second piece of pizza down her throat. 

“My name isn’t kid,” she mumbles around a mouthful of pizza, “It’s Van.” 

“Van huh, is that short for something?” 

Van shrugs her shoulders and smirks, “Perhaps.”

V snorts at the kid’s sass, “Fair enough, my name’s V.” 

“Is that short for something?” Van raises a teasing eyebrow. 

V chuckles liking this kid more by the second, “Smartass.” The girl laughs in return and finishes eating the rest of her food. After polishing off her third slice of pizza Van sits back in her seat and groans while patting her now full stomach. 

“That was some good shit,” the girl shyly looks over to V. “Thanks for this, I can pay you back. I don’t have any eddies right now but when I do I’ll pay you what I owe you. I mean I can be pretty resourceful so I’m sure I can find a way to get-“

“It’s fine Van,” V reassuringly cuts off the babbling girl. “Food’s on me today,” the merc pulls out her holo to check the time, she has about thirty minutes before she has to get to her last gig. “Listen I’ve got to get to work soon, is there someone I can call for you? Or do you want me to drop you off somewhere?” 

Van sinks in her seat in what V thinks might be disappointment, “No I don’t have anywhere to go, I’ve only been in the city for two days. I’ve been trying to find my brother who came here two weeks ago but I haven’t found him. This city is just too big,” Van grumbles and plops her head down onto the table in front of her. 

Judy is probably going to kill V for what she’s about to do, “You can stay with me if you want.” Van’s head lifts back up as she looks at V in shock. “At least until we find your brother.”

“You’d really do that?” The girl asks quietly in disbelief. “You don’t even know me.” 

V shrugs vulnerably, “You remind me of myself at your age. There was only one person who ever helped me then, and...I don’t know, I guess I want to be that person for you.” Van’s eyes fill with tears, “So what’d ya say?” Before V can react the girl throws herself into the merc’s body. Her arms are wrapped tightly around V’s torso as she cries quietly into the merc’s shoulder. V hesitantly returns the hug, wondering to herself when the girl last received one. “You’re okay kid,” V reassures her until Van pulls back and roughly wipes the tears from her face. 

“Sorry,” Van apologizes and clears her throat, “I usually don’t trust people this easily, or at really, but my dad used to always say that I should follow my instincts, and right now they’re telling me that I can trust you.” 

V smiles at the kid’s faith in her, “Thanks kid, I’ll try not to let you down.” The merc pulls out her holo to text Regina that something important came up and to let her know to find another merc for the gig V was supposed to do. “Let’s get out of here.” 

Van grins brightly and follows V out of the pizza place. “Didn’t you say you have to go to work soon?” She asks the merc after they’ve been walking for a short while. 

“I texted my fixer to let her know something came up,” V watches as Van seems to realize something. 

“Your fixer? Wait, that means you’re a mercenary!” The girl’s eyes widen in amazement. “I’ve never met a mercenary before, I mean no offense but you don’t exactly look like one.” 

V laughs loudly at her honesty, “Looks can be deceiving kid. Rule one of being a mercenary is to never underestimate your opponent; especially if they look harmless.” 

Van’s eyes shine with awe and V shifts uncomfortably not used to being looked at that way, “That’s so awesome. I could never be a mercenary, I’m pretty awful when it comes to shooting. My dad tried to teach me, but I always preferred fixing cars and computers.” 

“You’ll definitely get along well with my output then, she’s the biggest tech nerd I’ve ever met,” V’s words may be teasing but they are said with such warmth that the merc is almost embarrassed for gushing in front of the kid. 

Van silently regards V for a moment, “You have an output?” 

V raises an eyebrow at her, “Yeah I do, we also live together.” 

“That’s amazing,” Van whispers longingly to herself. 

“Everything okay kid?” V asks the girl after she’s gone awfully quiet. 

The girl nods her head with a small smile, “Yeah everything is okay.” 

V now has a better idea of some of the girl’s struggles. The more the merc gets to know Van, the more similarities V sees between them. The merc feels protective of making sure this kid doesn’t fall as far as V did at her age. The both of them continue the last trek of distance to V’s place in a comfortable silence. Once they get to the apartment building it’s fully dark outside. V leads Van into the place, carefully watching her to make sure the girl isn’t having second thoughts. 

“Well here we are, home sweet home,” V announces as they enter her and Judy’s apartment. Van walks further into the place seemingly captivated by all the artwork on the walls. “We don’t have a guest room but I know from experience that the couch is very comfortable.”

“This place is awesome,” Van freezes in place when none other than Little man walks out of Judy’s office. “Holy shit that’s a cat!” The feline stretches out probably having been woken up by their arrival. Van crouches down when the cat walks up to her, she holds out her hand and giggles when the cat sniffs her fingers. Little man must deem Van worthy enough as he starts to rub his face against her. “This is so cool!” The girl’s excitement puts a smile on V’s face. “Does he have a name?” She asks while keeping her full attention on the cat. 

“I call him Little man, although my girlfriend insists his name is Nibbles,” Van continues to play with the cat so V enters her room to get the girl some new clean clothes to wear. The merc picks out a few options for Van to choose from and walks back out into the living room. “I’ve got some clothes for you, you can pick whatever you want to wear. The bathroom is also over there if want to take a shower,” V places the clothes on the kitchen counter. Van gives little man one last scratch on his head before standing up and taking a look at the clothes. 

“I can pick anything?” Van looks at V uncertainly. 

“Anything, you can even take the whole pile if you want. I have too many clothes according to my girlfriend,” V smiles softly hoping to put Van at ease. 

Van picks up the pile and holds the clothes closely to her, “I-I think I will take a shower and then try some of these on.” 

“Okay kid, there are towels and soap already in the there so knock yourself out,” Van nods her head once and then makes her way to the bathroom. Once the door closes V takes in a deep breath and then slowly releases it, knowing this is her best time to call Judy but also not knowing how the woman will react to their new houseguest. 

The holo only rings twice before the call is answered, “Mi calabacita, miss me already?” Judy smirks on the holo screen and V almost has to pinch herself to stop staring at her beautiful output. 

“I always miss you babe, even when you’re here,” Judy’s smirk turns into that soft smile that has V melting every time she sees it. “Soooo, when you coming home?” V tries to make her voice as innocent as possible. 

Judy of course sees right through it, “What’d you do?” 

V scoffs in faux-outrage and places a hand over heart, “Wha-what makes you think I’ve done something? I am simply asking when my sexy goddess of a girlfriend will be returning home.” Judy slightly raises a poignant eyebrow. V cracks instantly, “okay so maybe I’ve done the tiniest of the littlest of little somethings.” The eyebrow lifts a little higher and the merc buckles completely, “Okay, okay, I’ve done a big something. Damn you woman and your foolproof interrogative techniques.” V mutters playfully and spots Judy’s lips twitch. At least the merc has caught her love in a good mood. 

“I’m still waiting,” Judy crosses her arms giving V her ‘you better give me what I want or I’ll punish you’ look. Under different circumstances the merc would relish that look. 

V huffs before replying, “Okay so, you know that kid I went after earlier? Who was being chased by cops?” 

“You brought another stray home didn’t you?” The techie questions the merc who’s mouth had audibly shut in shock at Judy’s deduction. 

“Um, maybe?” V waits patiently for her output’s reaction, but is surprised when all Judy does is smile softly and shake her head in that fond way she does when the merc is being a gonk. 

“Your heart is too big for your own good,” the techie tilts her head to the side in thought. “I’ve seen you help out many of the street kids but you’ve never invited one to stay with us before. What’s different about this one?” 

Judy’s question catches V off guard because she hasn’t really thought about it in that way. The merc does help out a lot with homeless people on the streets, considering she used to be one of them for years, but it was always a little bit of eddies here, some food there. Never has she brought someone to her and Judy’s place, mostly because she didn’t want them to become reliant on her. V may sympathize with those on the streets but she’s also not naive enough to believe that some of them wouldn’t backstab her and steal her belongings if they had access to her home. “I don’t really know, it’s different with this kid. I feel like I should know the answer, like it’s staring me in the face but for some reason I just can’t figure it out.” 

Judy’s name is called out from someone out of the view of V’s holo and the techie rolls her eyes. “I’ve gotta go babe, we’ll talk more later. I’m almost done so I’ll be home soon, love ya mwah,” Judy blows her a kiss and winks at her before ending the call. 

“Well that went better than I thought it would,” V says to herself. The merc then goes about her nightly routine of feeding the spoiled prince, changing into her night clothes and cleaning up before bed. V also makes sure to grab an extra pillow and blanket from her room to put on the couch for Van to sleep with. When that’s all done the door to the bathroom opens again and Van walks out wearing V’s old favorite tank top and shorts she used to wear a lot when she first met Jackie. Seeing the kid in them brings back fond memories of her choom...fuck, how she misses that big oaf. 

“Feel better?” V asks the kid, trying to distract herself from memory lane. The merc doesn’t want to freak the kid out by spontaneously bursting into tears. 

Van smiles at the merc, “Loads actually, haven’t had a decent shower in awhile.” The rest of the clothes V gave her are still being held in the kid’s hands. Van hesitates while looking at them, “You’re sure I can keep all of these?”

V walks over to her and ruffles the kids wet hair playfully, “They’re all yours kid.” Van blushes slightly at the merc’s gesture. “I got the couch set up for you,” V points over to where she had placed the spare blanket and pillow only to see that little man has taken refuge there. “But it looks like you might have to fight Little man for it.” 

Van giggles and makes her way over to her temporary living quarters, “I’m sure we can work out an arrangement, isn’t that right Nibbles?” The kid sits on the couch and Little man climbs right into her lap. 

V groans at the name the kid chose to use for the cat, “Not you too.” 

Van smirks at the miffed mercenary, “What? It suits him.” The girl lets out a huge yawn, “Shit, didn’t realize how tired I was until I sat down.” 

“You should get some sleep kid, we can start looking for your brother in the morning,” Van nods in agreement and lays out on the couch pulling the blanket overtop of her. She sighs out contentedly and Little man even lays out next to her, as if he somehow knows the girl will need the extra comfort. 

Before the girl fully falls asleep she quickly opens her eyes again as if to make sure V is still there with her. She relaxes again when she spots the mercenary who’s sitting on one of the kitchen chairs. “Thank you V, for everything,” the kid whispers and then buries her head into the purring cat in her arms. The merc silently watches over her with a soft smile on her face until she falls asleep. 

V keeps her silent vigil for about ten minutes when the front door opens indicating her output has come home from work. The merc goes to meet her halfway wanting to make sure Judy doesn’t accidentally wake the kid up, but mostly V just can’t wait to have her love in her arms again. Judy smiles when V gets closer to her and the merc pulls her in quickly so she can kiss her addicting lips. The techie sighs into it and V can tell from that sound that her love is exhausted. The merc leans away from Judy but not before giving her a quick peck on her nose. The techie giggles while scrunching her nose and V bites her lip trying to contain herself at the adorableness of it all. 

“I love how sweet you are when I get home,” Judy kisses her again and then peeks over V’s shoulder. The techie spies the sleeping girl on the couch, “That our guest?” 

The merc gestures for them to stay quiet and grabs Judy’s hand to bring them into the privacy of their bedroom. She closes the door behind them to make sure they won’t wake up Van while they talk. V then takes a seat on their bed while Judy goes about changing out of her day clothes. “Her name’s Van. She’s a nomad, although I don’t think she lives with her clan anymore considering she’s here in NC. Her brother is also somewhere in the city, she doesn’t know where he is here so I’m gonna help her find him.” 

Judy throws on her favorite night shirt which she stole from V awhile ago, but damn if the merc doesn’t love seeing her girl wear her clothes. “Why were the cops chasing her?” The techie sits on the bed next to V and the merc pulls the lethargic girl into her arms. Judy tucks her head into V’s neck and intertwines their legs. 

“She tried to steal from a food vendor. The kid was lucky it wasn’t one that shoots first and asks questions later.” When V was 13 years old she tried to steal from a vendor for the first time only to end up being shot in the arm for her trouble. It was the first time the merc had ever been shot by someone. Funnily enough, the same man that shot her ended up being the same person to treat her wound, especially after he realized she was just a starving kid. Mr. Sato was the first and only person to help V during her childhood. He was an older man who owned and ran a ramen vendor for decades. He basically took V under his wing and showed her the value of work. He even taught her the importance of cooking and would sometimes let her try to make her own recipes with scraps of food that was leftover at the end of the day. 

V only knew him for a few months before she found out that the old man was being harassed by the Tyger Claws to move his business. Mr. Sato was a proud man and swore that he would never move no matter what they did to him. In the end the Tyger Claws had the stubborn man killed. Later on Mr. Sato’s son had V tracked down so he could give her a shard that contained all of the old man’s recipes. The son told V that the old man was the happiest he’d ever been in his final days and that was all because of her. He told her that Mr. Sato had always wanted to pass on his life’s work to someone who he believed would honor it. To this day that shard of recipes is still one of V’s most treasured items. “She’s so much like me at that age Judy. I don’t know if it’s because of that or something else, but I have this overwhelming need to protect her.” 

The techie shifts the both of them so they’re facing each other, “Then we’ll protect her.”

V raises her eyebrows in surprise, “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Judy’s fingers absentmindedly twirl the hairs at the back of V’s neck. “I trust your instincts V, and I trust you. If you want to help this girl, then we will help her the way we do everything else—together.” 

V gazes into brown eyes in wonderment, “Have I mentioned today how much I love you?” 

Judy smiles softly while blushing and ducks her head under V’s chin, “Gonk.” She mumbles into the merc’s chest and V chuckles at the techie’s tendency to get shy during their mushy moments when she’s sleepy. 

“Let’s go to bed, I have a feeling tomorrow will be a long day,” V’s only reply to her statement in the sound of a cute snore. The merc looks down to see her love passed out with her face pressed between V’s breasts. She laughs silently to herself at the fact that Judy is such a breasts girl. 

A few hours later V still lies in bed having a hard time falling asleep. She solely focuses on the sounds of her love’s snores til they finally lull her into sleep; but in the back of her mind she can’t help but feel like her life is about to change.


	11. The kid pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V finds out a lot of things about her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically just an info dump.
> 
> I’ve had this V’s backstory fully planned out since I first played the game so I feel like Ive been waiting forever to finally be able to exorcize all of this shit out of my brain. 
> 
> Hopefully this turns out well for all of you 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! All of your comments make my day. I read some of them at work and it’s a good thing we wear masks now otherwise I’d probably be freaking people out by how much they make me smile :)
> 
> Stay safe out there everyone

Judy is woken up fairly early in the morning by a weird sound coming from the living room. V is still knocked out next to her, so whatever the sound is, it must be coming from the kid. She has to carefully remove herself from V’s arms because the merc is a very light sleeper and will normally jump awake at any loud sound or fast movement. 

After successfully leaving the bed without waking up her love, Judy goes to investigate the sound that she heard. The techie leaves the room and shuts the door behind her before quietly making her way into the living room. The kid lies rumpled on the floor and the blanket she slept with is now wrapped around her head. Nibbles watches over her from the couch making tiny mewling noises. Van whimpers in her sleep and looks like she’s desperately trying to fight someone off of her. “Please stop...” the kid whines and her legs start to flail in rising urgency. 

“Shit,” Judy curses at the girl’s words and stumbles down beside her to wake her up. The techie pulls the blanket off of her head revealing a shock of black, tangled hair. Judy gently places her hands on Van’s trembling shoulders, “Hey kid, wake up you’re okay.” The techie whispers carefully so as not to frighten the girl further. “You’re okay, you’re safe here,” those words seem to do the trick as the girl starts to calm slightly before finally waking up. Judy almost loses her balance completely at the sight of very familiar green eyes. The techie is almost certain she knows what her love didn’t see for herself when looking at this kid. Judy’s not even sure if V will even believe her when she tells the merc of her suspicions. 

Van takes a moment to rub the sleep from her eyes and the tears from her face, “you must be V’s girlfriend. I’m sorry if I woke you.” 

“Don’t worry about that. My name’s Judy, can I get you anything? Water? Soda? Coffee?” 

“I’m Van, and coffee sounds good,” Van climbs back onto the couch and smiles softly at Nibbles who clambers onto her lap. 

“Alright, coffee it is,” Judy moves into the kitchen to start a brew and silently watches the heartwarming bond forming between feline and lost kid. Judy is now more than convinced as to her theory of who this kid really is. The techie pours out two cups of coffee when the brew is finished, “how do you take yours?” 

Van gets up from the couch, taking Nibbles with her in her arms and then takes a seat at the kitchen table, “I drink it black.” Judy slides a mug across the table and the kid silently thanks her. 

The techie opens her fridge to pull out a carton of milk for her own cup, “V drinks hers the same way. Too bitter for my taste.” 

Van idly twirls the mug on the table while watching the rising steam from the brew dissipate into the air, “I got used to it living in the clan. Supplies could get very low, sometimes we would go weeks without any dairy products or even food depending on how many eddies our people could bring in that week.” 

Judy nurses her own mug close to her chest, relishing the feel of warmth flooding through her with each sip. “I guess that’s just life everywhere isn’t it? Without eddies, people suffer. The city can be equally as harsh and unforgiving to those who don’t have a profitable job.” 

“It didn’t use to be so bad, it was only the last couple of years that things went badly,” Van hunches over with a haunted look in her eye. “Can we talk about something else please?” She whispers brokenly and Judy feels as if she’s just seen a ghost of her younger self mourning over a lost home. 

“So, V mentioned that she’s going to help you find your brother?” The techie switches topics not wanting to push Van to talk about something she clearly isn’t ready to talk about. 

Van drinks the last of her coffee and nods her head, “Yeah, Vince, he came here to Night City about two weeks ago.” 

Judy innocently asks her next question, “Hmm, so his name is Vince?” 

Van squints her eyes in confusion while tilting her head to the side, “Yeah, Vincent Grey, why?” Judy’s eyes widen at her suspicions being confirmed, but before she can say anything more a loud smash causes the both of them to jump in their seats. Nibbles hops down from his perch on Van’s lap at the abrupt movement. The both of them look over to the now open bedroom doorway where a shell-shocked V is standing; her holo is on the floor where she dropped it after Van’s revelation. 

“Did you just say Grey?” V’s voice shakes as the mercenary raises a trembling arm to lean against the doorframe for support. Judy quickly moves to her side, afraid that the relic may malfunction at her love’s distress. 

Van’s face is filled with concern and absolute confusion, “Yeah, that’s our last name.” When V let’s out an unsuppressed sob Van jumps out her seat to try and help her. “V, are you okay?” When the kid goes unanswered she looks to Judy in desperation. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

Judy holds on to the woman who’s just had the proverbial rug pulled out from under her. The techie runs her fingers through V’s hair trying to soothe her as much as she can in this unique situation. Judy looks into worried green eyes that match her love’s eye color perfectly, “V’s full name is Valerie Grey.” 

Van steps back abruptly as if she’d just been shot, her mouth hangs wide open and she stares right at V trying to piece together what Judy has just said. “Oh my god,” Van’s hand covers her mouth and tears fill her eyes. “Vince was right, you’re really alive.” The tears fall rapidly down the kid’s face as she laughs and cries at the same time. 

V collects herself as best she can so she can take a better look at the kid in front of her. Judy keeps an arm around her waist just in case. “You know about me?” V’s voice cracks and she has to clear her throat a few times before it sounds somewhat like normal.

Van can’t keep her eyes off of V, the wonder and amazement in them both breaks and warms Judy’s heart. The techie doesn’t even have to ask herself if what Van is saying is the truth, considering the kid looks exactly like a younger version of her love. What really gives away their relation to one another is their eyes; the exact same shade of green that Judy’s memorized and etched into her heart from how often she gazes into her love’s eyes. 

“Yeah, it’s a long story,” Van’s voice sounds just as wrecked as the merc’s. “Most of it I know from what Dad or Vince has told me.” 

Judy watches as V seems to realize exactly what this means, “I-I have a brother and sister..?” Hope runs thick through her question and Judy reassuringly squeezes her arm around V’s waist. 

Van rapidly nods her head with a smile on her face, “and I have a big sister.” V quickly reaches out and grabs Van’s shoulder pulling the girl into her arms. Van tucks her head into V’s chest while the merc lays her own on top of the girl’s. Judy watches the scene with a smile, she always knew that V secretly wished she had siblings. The merc always talked about her childhood with such horrible connotations towards her mother, but one thing Judy could glean from V’s retellings was that she was also incredibly lonely. The only birth family V had, hated the sight of her; so getting to witness the merc find her younger sister, one who actually cried with such happiness upon meeting her, is the greatest gift Judy could ever wish unto her love. 

The emotional embrace is disrupted by a defeating rumble. Van pulls back with a dark blush on her face and nervously rubs the back of her neck. “Heh sorry, guess I’m a tad bit hungry.” 

V laughs heartily, “you really are my sister, we’ve both got what Judy calls beast stomachs. When they’re mad they roar their discontent.” The merc smirks at the techie and Judy just rolls her eyes. 

“Alright you two we can finish this talk later, for now go sit and I’ll make us some breakfast,” Van makes a beeline for a chair and perches onto it eagerly and the techie chuckles at her. Judy tries to usher V onto a kitchen chair but the woman sidesteps her so that the techie ends up the one sitting in the chair instead. 

“Nuh uh, you stay,” V places her hands on Judy’s shoulders to keep her from standing back up. “You’ve been working your ass off the past few days I want you to relax. I’ll make us food.” Judy goes to disagree but the merc just places her finger over the techie’s lips. “Nope, this is nonnegotiable. Relax baby, let me take care of you,” V uses her special weapon that Judy can never so no to, her puppy dog eyes. 

“Ugh fine, you and those damn green eyes,” Judy mumbles and crosses her arms. Not that she’s actually mad about her love spoiling her, she actually loves the fact that V always wants to take care of her. Nobody besides her grandparents has ever done that for her before. 

V kisses her on the forehead with a chuckle and Judy subconsciously leans into it. “Love you,” the merc whispers and then walks into the kitchen to survey the food available. “Hm, hey kid you like breakfast sandwiches?” 

Van perks up giving V her full attention, “I’ll eat anything as long as it’s food.”

Judy chuckles at the answer, “yup you’re sisters alright.” Van smiles at her with such joy. 

“So how’d you sleep last night kid?” V asks while she busies herself with making their breakfast. The merc also refills the empty mugs on the table with more coffee, making sure to add a splash of milk into Judy’s cup. She then pours the last bit of the brew for herself. 

Van takes a sip of her drink before answering, “it was good, you were right about the couch being comfortable.” The kid subtly peeks over at Judy as if wondering if she’ll tell V about her nightmare. The techie gives her a small reassuring nod, letting her know that it’s her choice to talk about it or not. Van sighs thankfully, “it’s been a rough week for me, haven’t had the greatest sleep of late.” V reaches across the table to ruffle Van’s hair affectionately. The girl just huffs in playful displeasure before a small smile spreads on her face. “I’m just really glad that I’m here.” 

“Me too Van,” the merc smiles brightly at the kid before locking eyes with Judy. The love and joy in her green eyes is almost blinding, “me too.”

•••

After eating breakfast, which according to Van is the best meal she’s had in years. The three of them settle on the couch in the living room to talk more about their earlier realizations. V can feel her nerves wreaking havoc under her skin. The merc moves closer to her love and Judy must sense her unease as she places her hand on V’s thigh and squeezes gently. 

V subtly clears her throat, trying to remove the lump that’s been forming over the past few silent minutes. “So uh, can you-can you tell me how you knew about me? And why you-why you thought I was dead?” Her voice stutters slightly in unmasked fear. For so long V’s mother had brainwashed the merc into believing that her father left her because V was unwanted. That her entire existence made the man run as far away as he could possibly get. V had believed this to be true for a long time. She thought that it was always the main reason why her mother hated her; but as the years passed and her mother’s drinking habits got worse, the woman would let slip things that would contradict everything V believed. In the end the merc just stopped listening to anything her mother said and instead accepted the fact that anything that came out of that woman’s mouth was most likely a lie. 

Yet here’s her little sister (V is still trying to wrap her head around that), who actually grew up with the man that is a complete mystery to the merc. The only thing she ever knew about him was his name, Xavier Grey. V doesn’t know if she’s more nervous to learn that she was wrong and her mother was telling the truth, or that the merc was right about her mother being a liar. 

“Dad told me the story of how he met your mom and then everything that happened the day you and Vince were born.” 

V pauses in place while her mouth opens and closes a few times in shock, “Me and Vince are twins?” The merc pinches the bridge of her nose to ease the headache that begins to build. “Fuck, that makes so much sense,” the more V thinks about it the more a lot of things her mother let slip in her drunken state resurface in the merc’s mind. One such event sticks out to V. It was her seventh birthday, and even at this point in her life V knew not to expect her mother to want to celebrate it. The merc didn’t know why, but her mother always used her birthday as an excuse to get completely annihilated, even more so than usual. 

V had come home to their trailer late that day after trying to delay the inevitable and she, not surprisingly, found her mother on the floor hugging a bottle of whiskey. The drunk woman kept mumbling about her lost boy. V just ignored it and she somehow managed to use her tiny body strength to move her mother to her bed. The woman only regained consciousness long enough to say, ‘I wish your father had taken you instead of your brother.’ V didn’t think much of it at the time but now the merc knows that her mother’s words weren’t just drunken nonsense. 

Judy pulls the merc’s hand away from her face, “V?” The techie asks with concern at the merc’s continued silence. V takes her girlfriend’s hand and loving kisses her knuckles. 

“I’m okay,” V takes a deep breath and then slowly releases it. She keeps Judy’s hand close to her, needing her output’s support now more than ever. “Keep going Van, please, I need to hear it all.” 

The girl looks questionably at Judy who nods at her before continuing her story, “Do you know the story of how they met?” 

“All my mother told me is that they met when they were both in the Valentinos,” V mutters the gang’s name darkly. The merc has had one too many bad memories associated with that gang. “And that his name was Xavier Grey, but people called him X.” It was actually this fact that gave the merc the idea to start having people call her V. She felt like it gave her a new identity, one that could give her a fresh start. Where she could leave behind scared little Valerie and become badass V the mercenary; and for the longest time V did just that. It wasn’t until she met Judy that Valerie felt safe enough to come out of her hiding place inside of V’s mind and heart. 

“Dad was an orphan, he said joining the gang felt like his only choice at the time,” Van keeps her eye on Little man who’s napping in her lap, but V can still sense the sadness the kid’s trying to suppress. “He met your mom as a recruit and fell quite madly for her. They rose up in the ranks together, then they got married, Dad said it was the happiest he had ever been in his whole life—until he wasn’t. 

“Your mom-she became obsessed with rising up even higher in the gang, whereas Dad was content with the position he currently held. He wasn’t a common foot soldier but he also wasn’t a leader. It afforded him to have a bit of a buffer between the really dangerous jobs and the downright sickening jobs. 

“Things got worse when they found out your mother was pregnant. It took everything Dad had in order to convince her not to...well he convinced her to keep their baby.” V listens silently and understands what Van can’t bring herself to say. This isn’t exactly surprising news to the merc, finding out her mother didn’t want her even whilst she was still in her womb. 

“Your mother refused to see a doctor during her entire pregnancy, and Dad had to go along with it because he worried what she would do if he pushed the issue. So they didn’t know she was going to have twins until the day of the birth. Your mother went into labor and they brought her to the hospital, Vince was born first and Dad said that was the only time he saw your mother even look remotely happy throughout her whole pregnancy. Then the doctors told them she was about to give birth again and Dad was completely shocked. You were born not too long later, but there were...complications.” 

Judy shifts closer to V, probably seeking her own comfort, “what kind of complications?” 

Van frowns deeply while looking at the merc, “You were born too small, Dad said you didn’t even make a sound after your birth. The doctors looked you over and claimed that you didn’t develop fully in the womb and that you most likely wouldn’t survive the night.” 

“That’s why you thought I was dead?” V asks while trembling slightly. Judy strokes her thumb across V’s knuckles soothingly. 

Van nods with sigh, “Yeah, it broke Dad’s heart. Your mother named Vincent after her father, but she refused to give you a name since you were dying. So Dad named you Valerie, after his great grandmother who had raised him until she passed away when he was nine.”

V tries to picture this man in her head, a man she never knew but one who mourned her since the day she was born. A man that named her after the only family he ever had. She’s having a hard time reconciling this version of the man with the one her mother depicted all those years ago. V wants to feel elated at knowing the man who sired her actually wanted her, but the part of her mind that’s protected little Valerie her whole life is blocking her from feeling anything at all at the moment. 

Judy takes over the conversation and V squeezes her hand in relief, “So then how did your father and brother end up with the nomad’s?” 

“Dad overheard your mom talking to someone on her holo about Vince’s future in the gang. She was going to use him as a bargaining chip to gain more influence. They were going to raise and train him to be the perfect Valentino soldier. Dad wasn’t going to let that happen so he did the only thing he could think of to keep him safe. He basically kidnapped Vince from the hospital and called the only person he could trust, someone he knew would get the both of them smuggled out of the city. That person was part of the Bakker’s clan. They got out safely and made a new life in the clan, that’s where he met my mom and then I was born. My mom died giving birth to me and Dad...he passed away three years ago during a Raffen raid.” Van silently watches V absorb all of this life changing information. The kid gets up and moves so she’s sitting on the other side of the merc and grabs V’s unoccupied hand. “Leaving you there at the hospital was the hardest thing Dad ever did. He got your name tattooed over his heart, he said it was where you’d always be. That even if you weren’t alive, you were still in his heart.” 

A lone tear escapes from V’s eyes and for the first time in her life she mourns for a life she never got to live. For a man she never got to meet, and a family that could’ve loved her growing up. “Thank you Van, for telling me all of this.” Even though the merc’s heart is completely torn asunder at the moment, her mind can now be put at ease knowing her father did truly love her and want her. “He did the right thing back then, taking Vince away. Mother would of ruined him.”

Van lays her head on V’s shoulder, “I’m sorry that things didn’t turn out differently for you, if only Dad knew that you’d survive. He would’ve taken you with him in a heartbeat.” 

While it may sadden V that her life could’ve been happier as a child there is also one thing she absolutely certain of. “I’m not sorry my life turned out this way,” Van lifts her head back up with questions in her eyes. “I may have missed out on a lot growing up, but I don’t regret everything I went through to get to this moment. It made me who I am and it led me to where I am now.” V turns to look at the woman who changed her life, “It led me to love of my life.”

Judy ducks her head bashfully, “sap.” She mutters and then tucks herself into the merc’s side. 

V holds her close and looks back to the kid who watches them with a yearning smile, “and a little sister, who I’d really like to get to know.” 

Van giggles happily, “who would’ve thought that getting chased by cops was a sure fire way of finding long lost siblings.” 

V chuckles in agreement, “Tell me about it, and speaking of long lost siblings, we still have an older brother to find.” 

Van’s eyes widen in realization, “Vince is gonna be thrilled when he finds out he was right all this time.” 

“Right about what?” 

“He was always convinced that you were alive, no matter what Dad said. Vince never once believed you were dead.” 

V’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion, “why did he believe I was alive?” 

Van shrugs, “Dunno, all he’d really say was that it was a twin thing. I asked him once what he meant by that but all he said was that it was like having phantom limb symptoms. Like he knew that something was supposed to be there but wasn’t. He always believed that something was you. It’s why he came here to Night City, he wanted to try and find you. Little did he know that I’d be the one to find you first.” 

“Technically V found you first,” Judy smirks. 

“Eh, semantics,” Van chuckles. 

V snorts in amusement, loving the fact that her girlfriend and sister are getting along. “Did Vince tell you where he was going to start looking for me?” 

“Some place called Heywood I think,” Van frowns in annoyance. “I would’ve found him sooner but my holo broke a few months ago and I havent been able to afford a new one. So I’ve had no way of contacting him, he might not even know that I’m here in the city.” 

V ruffles the kid’s hair, “Don’t worry Van, we’ll find him.” The sound of a text notification can be heard pinging from Judy and V’s bedroom. V looks over to her love, “is that mine or yours?” 

Judy groans miserably, “Pretty sure that’s mine.” The techie gets up from couch and walks to their bedroom. 

“Be right right back kid,” V stands up and follows after her. The merc stops in the doorway after picking up her own forgotten holo from the ground and sees a deep frown on Judy’s face. “Everything alright?” 

“Don’t know,” Judy hands over her holo to V. 

Rita: sos at Lizzie’s. Susie is having one of her meltdowns. She wants everyone to come in. Don’t know what for. 

The merc’s face now sports a frown to match Judy’s, “Do you want me to come in with you?” The vagueness of the text has V worrying about what that bitch Susie wants with her love now. 

Judy shakes her head while taking back her holo after V hands it back to her, “Nah, it’ll only piss her off more if you show up with me. I’ll go alone, besides you need to find Vince.” 

V slumps down onto their bed, “This whole thing just doesn’t feel real.”

Judy crouches in front of V and holds her hands, “if anyone deserves to have a family it’s you V.” 

V kisses Judy’s lips with such love, she then pulls back and leans their foreheads together, “You’re my family Judy. No matter how many long lost relatives show up, that fact will never change.” 

Judy smiles widely, “I know that you gonk.” She chuckles huskily and the merc shivers at the sound. “Although it is still nice to hear every once in awhile.” 

V kisses her a few more times, “I love you. I can’t thank you enough for having to deal with the craziness that is my life.” 

“I’m here for you V, always.” Judy wraps her arms around her and holds her close. V breathes in her familiar smell that never fails to remind her of home. “I’ll text you later to let you know if everything is fine at Lizzie’s.” 

V pecks her on the cheek and then the forehead before pulling back completely, “and I’ll keep you updated on the hunt for my brother.” Just saying those words sounds insane to the merc. V takes in a deep breath to prepare herself for the day and grabs one more quick kiss from Judy for luck. She walks out of the room to find Van still waiting patiently on the couch for her return. 

“Okay kid, let’s get dressed. We’ve got a brother to find.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if people noticed my little clues about Van being V’s sister in the last chapter.
> 
> I didn’t originally plan for the reveal to be this way but the writing does what it wants. I am merely just the vessel. 
> 
> Next chapter we will meet Vincent.


	12. Family reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V and Van try to find their brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I’ve finally gotten through all of V’s backstory 
> 
> Special Shoutout to KingOfDeath0071 for all the Spanish translations

“Okay kid you ready to go?” V shouts from her bedroom after she dons the last of her clothes. Judy left only a few minutes before to see about whatever is happening at Lizzie’s. While the merc is still somewhat worried about the vague text the techie received, she also trusts her love to be able to handle herself. 

V takes one last look in the mirror to check on the scar on her face, deeming it almost completely healed. V secretly admits that she kinda likes the scar, and Judy has also said she finds it sexy, but she’d rather the merc not get anymore. 

“I’m good to go!” Van shouts back to V and the merc goes to equip her weapons. 

“Hey Van, come here a sec,” V hears the echoing steps of her sister before she enters the room. 

“What’s up?” Van now wears V’s old pair of leather combat pants and a samurai t-shirt (turns out Van is a big fan of them). It’s a good thing V’s been taking her blockers recently otherwise Johnny would probably try to tease her about it. 

“I want you to wear this,” the merc pulls out a spare gun holster, that houses her old piece Dying Night, from inside her weapons cache. 

Van eyes the holster warily, “I did tell you I’m not good with guns right?” 

“I don’t actually want you to have to use it,” V goes to show her how to wear it. “Having this on you will at least make some of the people in this city think twice about fucking with you. This is my old gun, I don’t use her as much anymore, but she served me well and she’ll serve you well too.” Once the holster is properly in place V watches Van move around to get used to the feel of it. 

“It’s kinda strange, but not in a bad way,” Van then watches V take out her own holster that has her girl Lizzie all ready to go. “Is that a toy gun?” Van looks at the piece with such bewilderment. 

V laughs loudly at the description, considering that’s what most people think when they see the gun. It’s also sometimes the last thing they think. “This gun is called Lizzie, she may look like a toy but believe me this girl can obliterate a borg and set him on fire simultaneously.”  
The merc takes out her usual knives but decides against taking any heavy weapons, she will just have to use her mantis blades as a last resort. She does pocket a few grenades and some airhypos because you can never be too careful in Night City. 

“You wear a lot of knives,” Van points out after watching V attach all six that she carries on her person. Two on her forearms, two on her thighs and two in her boots. The merc can hardly even leave the apartment without having her knives on her at all times. V has had one too many gigs where her guns have run out of ammo and her knives have saved her life. 

“I prefer blades over guns if I’m being honest, I didn’t learn how to shoot til I was a little bit older than you are.” V was 16 when she scrounged up enough eddies to pay someone at a shooting range to teach her how to use a gun. V used to go to the range and watch the people there test out their weapons, but one man in particular always caught V’s attention. He was a lot older than her, maybe in his 40’s, but he was always the best shot at the range. V got the courage and the eddies to finally ask him to teach her. He flat out said no the first time she asked but that just made V even more determined to get him to say yes. It took about a month of trying to figure out the man’s price, until one day V brought her own homemade food to the range and he stared at it like he hadn’t eaten in days. That’s when V figured out his price—food. 

So three days a week V would show up at the range with whatever food she made that day and would give it to the man as payment for his teachings. Over time the merc discovered his name was Joe, but V would always just call him Old Man Joe. The man used to be a mercenary in his younger years until he met a journalist named Jaime on one of his gigs. He fell in love, with his now husband, and Old Man Joe decided to retire from the life. 

This was the first time that V herself thought about becoming a mercenary. The old man tried to talk her out of it many times, but V was stubborn and didn’t listen. Old Man Joe conceded his advice once he realized nothing he said would deter V and instead poured as much of his knowledge about mercenary work into V as he could. 

A few years after their initial meeting, Joe and Jamie decided to move to Atlanta for Jamie’s work. V went with them to finish her training and ended up staying there for a few years before deciding to come back to Night City to officially start her life as a mercenary. She still receives texts from both men from time to time wanting to know what she’s up to and if she’s taking care of herself. After her and Judy finally leave NC behind them she’d love to take her girlfriend to meet the man that taught her everything she knows and is probably the closest she ever had to a father figure. 

V gives Van a serious look once all of her weapons are in place, “I want you to carry that gun with you every time you’re in the city.” The merc also takes out her favorite knife from the cache (the same one she’s had since she was a kid) and hands it over to her sister. “I also want you to have this.” 

Van carefully takes the knife and pulls it out of its sheath. The handle of the blade is made with a dark wood that’s stained a blood-red, while the metal of the blade is shined and polished with absolute care. One would never know that the knife is decades old. When Van turns the knife down the small etchings on the pommel of the blade catch in the light. “XG, those are Dad’s initials.” Van’s eyes widen, “He talked about this knife. It was a gift from his great grandma, said it used to belong to his father. He thought he lost it.” The girl says with wonder. 

“He must have left it behind during his haste to leave the city. I found it with my mother’s things when I was very young. I saw the initials and I just knew it was his. So I took it for myself, my mother never found out about it. She probably didn’t even know she had it in the first place.” Van holds the knife tightly in her hands and V can see the moisture build in her eyes. “I kept it on me everyday for years. It saved my life one day when I was 13. My mother had a drinking problem, and an anger problem. She was unofficially cast out of the gang and ended up owing the Valentino’s a lot of eddies. I used to hear her talk to other members about it all the time and she always promised they would get their payday when the time was right.”

V clenches her fists tightly, “I didn’t know at the time what that meant, at least not until I turned 13. I used to run away a lot because I hated living there. I never knew what kind of mood my mother would be in when I got there, so I would avoid going home at all costs. I don’t know why I went home that day, maybe because it was my birthday and I was still naive enough to believe that that day would be different from the others—I don’t know; but I should’ve never gone home.” V feels a slight touch on her fist and opens her eye not even realizing she had shut them tightly. Van wraps her fingers gently around V’s and the merc instantly feels more grounded in the moment. She releases the breath she was holding before continuing, “Anyway I arrived home and found that my mother’s things were gone, even most of my belongings were gone as well. Two Valentino’s were waiting inside for me. They told me that my mother believed I was finally old enough and sold me to them to be their own personal joytoy.”

Van gasps as tears fall from her eyes, “What the fuck kind of person does that? Dad always said she could be cruel but that’s just horrific. I’m so sorry Val.” 

V smiles lightly at the new nickname Van uses for her. She likes the idea of her sister calling her something other than the name she uses as a mercenary; it makes it feel more personal. “I survived. The same can’t be said for those two goons though. They underestimated me, it’s like I told you yesterday even the most unassuming opponent can be the most dangerous. I used my meekness as an advantage over them. One of the guys went outside to give the other some privacy with me, the gonks never even checked me to see if I had a weapon.” V turns her gaze onto the blade, “I used that knife and I stabbed him in the throat, he bled out in seconds. It was the first time I ever killed someone. The other guy was even easier to takeout, I snuck up behind him and slit his throat. After that I ran away as far as I could and started to live on the streets, and I never once let that knife out of my sights.”

Van wipes away her tears before looking on the blade with new eyes, “But why give it to me? Dad would want you to keep it.” 

V gently takes the knife back from Van’s hands and returns it to its sheath and then holds it back out to the girl. “He’s already protected me with this blade. Now I want it to protect you.” Her sister takes it back reverently but her eyes still look unsure. V nods reassuringly and Van finally places the blade at her waist, the merc watches her sister’s gate grow surer. Her shoulders straighten and her posture relaxes with confident. “Now it’ll be like he’s always by your side.” 

Van’s hand wraps around the handle and she whispers, “Thank you Val.” 

V ruffles the kid’s hair who playfully bats her hand away, “No problem kid. Let’s get a move on yeah? I know just the place to start looking for Vince.” 

•••

“I can’t believe you have a Javelina! This car is fucking amazing!” Van’s joy practically vibrates out of her where she’s sitting in the passenger seat. “I mean every nomad dreams of owning this car but can’t ever afford it. How the hell did you manage to get one?” 

V chuckles at her sister’s enthusiasm over her girl Lina (yes V named her car, and yes Judy teases her about it all the time, and no she won’t stop treating her car like a real lady). “I work for the nomad’s fixer sometimes when I’m in the badlands. Her brother used to own Lina, he sold her to me cause his sister said I was reliable. Believe me though, I had to prove that I was worthy enough to even have her. The brother put me through some tests before he finally allowed me to buy her. Me and Lina have been together ever since.” V lovingly runs her hand over the dash. If Judy saw her now she’d roll her eyes and call V a gonk, but fuck if the merc doesn’t love this car. She also loves that it’ll be the perfect vehicle to have once she leaves the city and starts living with the nomads. 

“Can I please please please drive her?” Van pouts dramatically and even uses V’s secret weapon, the puppy dog eyes. Fuck now she knows why it always works on Judy. It’s the damn green eyes. 

“Maybe, but,” V holds up a finger to silence Van’s shout of glee. “I need to see your driving skills first before I’ll let you even sit on the driver seat. Besides Lina is particular about the women who drive her.” What can V say, she has the same taste in women that she does in cars—picky. 

Van nods her head quickly, “Of course, I’d never use her without her permission.” The kid settles back into her seat after her excitement has waned. “Where are we going exactly? You never said.” 

V makes a stop at a red light, “Well, if what you said about Vince is true and he went to look for me in Heywood. The best place to go for info on if anyone has seen him is at a bar over there called the El Coyote Cojo. A woman named Mama Wells owns the place, she’s one tough broad and she knows everything about anyone in Heywood. Especially involving new people in town.” The light turns green and V speeds off, not paying attention to how fast she’s going considering cops hardly give a shit about the speed limit being maintained. It’s around mid afternoon and Mama Wells should be at the bar already getting ready for the night rush. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

The rest of the drive to the bar is made in relative silence and V keeps an eye on Van who seems to have become a ball of nerves. When V parks in front of the bar she turns her car off and places a reassuring hand on her sister’s shoulder. “We’re gonna find him Van.” 

Van takes a deep breath and nods resolutely at V’s words, “I believe you.” 

“Good, let’s get inside, Mama Wells is probably gonna tan my hide for not visiting recently.” V gets out of the car with Van following close behind her. 

“Are you two close?” Van asks moving into step beside the merc. 

“She took me in a while back, and I was best chooms with her son Jackie. He died a few months ago, so it’s been hard for me to come here recently,” V can hardly bring herself to walk into the Coyote now that Jack is gone. It’s strange because she used to come here all the time by herself, not to drink, but to just have good conversation and to get the lowdown on what’s happening in the city. Then she met Jackie and officially met Mama Wells and the bar started to feel like home to her. Now it just feels empty, like there’s a big empty space in the shape of an empty stool where her choom would always sit. 

V hasn’t seen Mama Wells since she introduced her to Judy when they first started dating. The older woman was so happy for the merc finding someone she truly cared about and vise versa. It also didn’t hurt that the woman V happened to fall for is a Latina woman. Mama Wells would always tease the merc that she needed to find a good Latina woman who isn’t afraid to put V in her place; Judy is exactly that and so much more. The merc can feel guilt bubble in her stomach for not stopping by more often. The guilt is only somewhat alleviated knowing that Misty has been keeping the older woman company now that the man they both love is gone. 

V stares at the closed doors to the bar for what feels like too long. Anxiety floods her veins and if it wasn’t for Van’s presence by her side the merc might have fled by now. “Okay let’s do this.” The doors open for V and she calls out nervously. “¿Hola? ¿Hay alguien aquí?” (Hello, is anyone here?)

The back room door opens and Mama Wells walks out with a stern look on her face, “Vaya vaya. Finalmente, V ha venido de visita.” (Well well. V has finally come to visit.)

The merc winces at the comment, “I’m sorry Mama Wells.” She says as sincerely as she can. Her eyes silently plead for the woman to understand why she hasn’t been here that much so V doesn’t have to say it out loud. 

The older woman sighs deeply, “I understand mi niña.” 

V relaxes when the woman pulls her into a warm hug. The merc still isn’t used to such motherly affection and every time she receives a hug from Mama Wells V has to desperately rein in the tears from showing in her eyes. The older woman never outright asked V about her past but it’s relatively easy for one victim of abuse to recognize signs of it in another. The merc always admired that Mama Wells never treated her differently because of it, she just accepted V for who she is and treated her as family since the day Jackie brought her to their house. “I’m still sorry.”

Mama Wells pulls back from their embrace and holds V out at arms length to get a better look at her. “There is no need for apologies. We all deal with pain in our own ways.” The woman’s gaze moves to Van. “And who is this?” 

Van smiles shyly and holds out her hand towards the woman. “Hi, I’m Vanya Grey, but most people call me Van.” 

The older woman chuckles warmly while returning the handshake, “Such manners, you don’t see that much in kids around here. You can call me Mama Wells.” The woman looks back and forth between the two girls with a calculating expression. “You know if I didn’t know any better I’d say the two of you are-“

“Sisters?” V supplies after cutting off the woman. “That’s because we are.” 

Mama Wells’ eyes grow wide, “¡Dios mío! I would accuse you of messing with me but the resemblance is undeniable. How did you two find each other?” 

V laughs while patting Van’s shoulder, “I helped this one here escape the cops.” 

Van blushes brightly, “I was hungry.” 

“I’m just messing with you kid,” V shakes the girl playfully. “I’ve been arrested and chased by the cops for much worse than trying to steal food.” 

Mama Wells watches them with a somber yet happy expression, “Speaking of food, are the two of you hungry? I have leftover Empanadas from dinner last night.” 

Van looks to V with such hopeful eyes and the merc just fondly shakes her head at the kid’s gluttony. “That sounds great Mama Wells.” 

“Good, go take a seat at the bar. I’ll heat up the food and bring it out to you.” Van and V go to take their seats and the merc tries her best to ignore the empty stool nearby. 

“She seems nice. I can see why everyone calls her Mama Wells.” Van’s voice brings V’s attention away from the ghost in the bar. 

“Yeah she’s always been great to me and she was an amazing mom to Jackie.” 

Van’s finger idly follows the swirls in the wood of the bar, “I sometimes wonder what my mom would’ve been like. She was the one that named me Vanya. Said I was her gift from god. When I got older I started to go by Van instead because I didn’t feel like much of a gift knowing that my very existence cost her her life.” 

V sighs in sympathy, “I get it.” 

Van raises her eyebrows in surprise, “you’re not gonna tell me her death isn’t my fault?” 

“I’m sure a great many people have told you that it’s not your fault, but I’m also sure that no matter how many times people say that to you there’s still always gonna be a part of you that feels responsible. So no, I won’t join those list of people, because I get it.” V can remember all the people that told her her own mother’s behavior wasn’t her fault. That no matter what she did her mother wouldn’t change and it wasn’t on her. But even to this day V still feels like everything her mother did or said was her responsibility. That maybe the merc could’ve said something or did something to make her stop. To make her better. To make her change; but nothing ever worked. So no amount of nice words or reassures will ever make those feelings go away. 

Van’s shoulders slump slightly, “I know that I probably shouldn’t feel this way, but I’m kinda glad that someone understands.” 

“It reminds you that you’re not alone,” The sisters smile at each other feeling as if they’ve bonded on a new level. 

“Yeah it does,” Van says and then they are interrupted by Mama Wells returning with the food. 

After the two of them wolf down some of Mama Wells’ amazing cooking, the woman finally brings up why the two of them are there in the first place. 

“So V, I’m assuming you didn’t stop by just to break the news about your sister and eat my food.” The woman raises a pointed eyebrow at the merc. 

V nervously rubs the back of her neck at the look, “Heh, yeah. There’s actually someone that me and Van are looking for. He’s new here in the city and may have stopped here one day.” 

“A new person in Night City you say?” Mama Wells crosses her arms. “What’s his name and what does he look like?” V looks over to Van to answer. 

Van perks up when the attention shifts to her, “His name is Vince, he has black short hair that’s shaved on the sides and a full beard. He also has green eyes just like ours and there’s a flower tattoo on the side of his neck.”

“Green eyes like yours?” Mama Wells asks. “Don’t tell me you have another surprise sibling running around somewhere?” 

“My twin brother actually,” V mumbles sheepishly knowing how outlandish it sounds. 

Mama Wells, being the most unflappable person that the merc knows, doesn’t even flinch at the new information. “You know V when Jackie first brought you around I always believed you were a magnet for the strange. I believe that even more now.” 

V can’t even refute that statement. She can only imagine what the woman would say if V told her about the dead terrorist living in her head. “Tell me about it, but at least this time I don’t mind the strangeness.” The merc will take on all kinds of weird shit if it means knowing she has a brother and sister who want her. 

“You’ll be happy to know that I have seen such a man as you describe,” the woman answers their previous question. 

The joy on Van’s face isn’t hard to miss, “Really?” 

“Si, about two days ago he came in and I overheard him asking Pepe about finding any local fixers for work. Pepe sent him to talk to Padre. I’d ask him if he knows where your brother is.” 

Van jumps from her seat to lean across the bar and gives the older woman a grateful hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

Mama Wells chuckles while gladly returning the embrace, “De nada, pequeña.” (You’re welcome, little one)

V pulls out her holo to pull up Padre’s contact info. “Hey kid, wait here a sec I’m gonna call Padre real quick.” The merc stands up to move near the front of the bar for privacy and presses send on the call button. 

The holo rings twice before it’s answered, “Ah if it isn’t V. What a pleasant surprise, what can I do for you my dear?” Padre’s deep timbered voice greets her before his weathered face pops up on her screen. 

“Padre l need some info on a man named Vince. And word on the street is that you two may be acquainted with one another.” V gets straight into business since she knows that the fixer doesn’t like to dwell on the unimportant. 

Padre’s expression remains unchanged, never before has V seen this man’s face resemble anything besides unimpressed. “And what is that you require this information for?”

“I don’t plan on zeroing him if that’s what you’re worried about. I just need his help with something is all.” V’s being intentionally vague, not wanting anyone besides the people she trusts knowing about her siblings. If anyone with any kind of grudge against the merc found out they’d try to use them against her. Judy is an exception considering she’s a part of the Mox and if anyone fucked with her they’d not only insight V’s wrath but they’d have an entire gang on their ass. 

“The man named Vincent you are referring to is a new merc. He’s worked a few gigs for me so far, the kid has potential, maybe not up to your standards, but potential all the same. I sent him on a gig not too long ago if you wish to find him it will be there.” V fidgets slightly at the fixer’s praise and also tries not worry about the fact that her gonk of a twin brother decided to do mercenary work. 

“Gracias Padre, what do I owe you?” 

“For you V? Nada, knowing that you are going there means that the gig will be successful. Sending you the detes.” He says and then hangs up the holo. The next second V gets a ping with a message of the gigs’ dossier. She reads through it quickly and goes back to join the other two at the bar who seem to be deep in conversation. 

“Hey kid,” Van twists around on the stool quickly with wide eyes. “So I have good news and bad news. Good news is I found where Vince is.” A wide smile spread on her sister’s face. “But the bad news is you’re gonna have to stay here while I go get him.”

Van huffs dramatically, “But I wanna come with you! What if something happens? Or one of you gets hurt?” 

V quickly walks over noticing the signs of an impending panic attack, “Hey Van breathe, it’s gonna be okay alright? I’ll make sure nothing happens. Mama Wells has my number so I’ll text her the second I find him. We will come back okay? I promise.”

Van buries her face into V’s stomach, “Be careful Val.” Her voice is barely discernible to the point where only V can hear her. 

“Of course kid,” V squeezes her back tightly and looks over to Mama Wells. “Watch over her, please?” V whispers brokenly. 

The woman smiles softly at the merc, “Of course mi hija, she is safe here.”

V kisses the top of Van’s head and pulls away before she changes her mind. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Van tries and fails to smile. V has to turn away from the kid and force herself to leave the bar. The only thing pulling her away is the fact that her brother is out there on a dangerous gig. And V has a promise to keep. 

•••

V parks her car on the side of the street after arriving at her destination. The gig is a pretty simple one as far as gigs go. Vince has to steal back a car for a man claiming it’s his life’s work. The only catch is that the car is currently being held by 6th Street gang. 

The merc takes one step towards the auto shop when the sound of guns start going off. “Shit!” She curses and takes off at a run toward the shop. V uses her reinforced tendons to jump over the fence and then lands directly on a goon trying to shoot at someone hiding behind cover on the far side of the lot. The merc quickly snaps the man’s neck and smoothly pulls Lizzie from her holster in one fluid motion. The remaining three goons turn to her in surprise and V uses their shock to quickly shoot them between their eyes. The auto shop grows deathly still after all the bodies she dropped hit the ground. “You can come out now.” 

A man’s voice shouts back to her from where he’s still crouching, “So I can what? Let you kill me so you take my gig? Not happening!”

V is almost proud of her brother’s wariness. He must’ve learned the hard way in the few weeks that he’s been here that you can’t trust anything or anyone at face value. “Not at all,” she shouts back. “I’ve heard you’ve been looking for me.” 

Vince’s head peeks up from his cover and the both of them lock eyes for the first time in their whole lives. V’s heart starts pounding at the connection she can feel to her brother in from this distance. This must be what Van was talking about when Vince described their absence from each other as a phantom limb. The merc always believed that feeling inside of herself was loneliness, never would she have believed that it’s actually her heart missing her twin brother she didn’t know she had. 

“Valerie...?” Vince stands up fully and V can tell from here that he’s a good few inches taller than her. He takes a few hesitant steps towards her. The merc is frozen in place and also feels like she might feint any second. These past two days have been one whirlwind after another for V. “I knew it...I knew it,” her brother laughs wetly as a few tears fall from his eyes. Vince rushes up to her and wraps his muscular arms around her in the most protective hug V has ever experienced. The merc lays her head over her big brother’s chest listening to sound of his rapidly beating heart. “I knew you weren’t dead, I just knew it.” He tightens his arms around her and V can feel her own tears escape her eyes. 

Vince eventually pulls back so he can look at her face more closely, “How did you find me?” 

V clears her throat and clumsily wipes away the tears from her face, “Me and Van stumbled upon each other yesterday and she told me you were looking for me.”

Her brother’s eyes fill with panic, “Vanny?! What the fuck is she doing here? She should still be back in the clan!” 

“Hey, hey easy she’s okay,” V says a soothingly as she can to try and alleviate his terror. “She was a little worse for wear but other than that she’s okay. I don’t know about what happened with your clan but I can tell from her not saying anything that it wasn’t good.” 

Vince rubs his forehead in frustration, “Fuck, I thought she’d be safe there. I didn’t think they’d let their prejudice against me affect her in anyway. I’m such a horrible big brother.” 

V smacks her brother’s shoulder to knock some sense into him, “Cut that shit out. Van adores you and no matter what happened with the clan I guarantee you she doesn’t blame you.” Vince rubs the back of his neck (just like V does) in reprimand. “She was so excited when I told her I found you, I’m almost surprised she didn’t try to latch herself to my car when I told her she had to stay behind.” 

Vince chuckles warmly, “Yeah us Greys are a stubborn lot.”

“So I’ve gathered,” V smirks. “Cmon, let’s finish this gig of yours and go get Van. I don’t know about you but my emotions are shot to hell and I could really go for some comfort pizza.” 

Vince laughs heartily and wraps his arm around V’s shoulder to go collect the car for his gig. “I’m right there with ya sis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be more family bonding and also what’s happening with Judy? Who knows Guess we’ll find out.


	13. Family bonding pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V has found her brother and they begin to bond before the merc gets a call from someone at Lizzie’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to split this chapter into two parts cause it was getting kinda long. This first part is kinda angsty but the next one will most likely be super fluffy so it kinda balances out. 
> 
> This also has a gig from the game in it that I tweaked a little to fit my story.

“You do realize I’m gonna steal this car from you right?” Vince teases her while they are both on their way back to the Coyote. V made sure to text Mama Wells before leaving the auto shop so she could let Van know that her and Vince were fine and were on their way to the bar. 

Vince collected the car from the shop and he drove it to the owner’s location with V following behind him in her own car. After dropping it off, and Vince being wired his eddies for a gig well done, they both climbed into Lina where her brother instantly fell in love with her second best girl. 

“Well then you’re gonna have to get in line behind Van,” V smirks back enjoying their banter. 

Vince chuckles lightly, “Vanny could definitely outmaneuver me any day when it involves cars. There is no engine that kid can’t fix.” The pride is heavily apparent in his voice. “Me and Dad showed her her first engine when she was three. I think she was five when she built her own engine from scratch, and it worked.” 

V relaxes in her seat while listening to her brother reminisce. At first V thought she might feel jealous or maybe even envious at hearing about their life; but in truth she just feels thankful. Thankful that they didn’t have to live a life like her, that they had a parent that could teach them and love them. That they grew up with a sibling who protected them and adored them. 

“She’s a smart kid, and she’s tough as hell. I may have only known you for a little while but even I can tell she gets that from you,” Vince bows his head bashfully. 

“Thanks,” he says quietly before sighing. “Me and Dad were always very protective of her. Our clan wasn’t the most open minded of clans.” 

V’s face scrunches in confusion, “What do you mean?” 

“I’m bi,” Vince shrugs nonchalantly. “A lot of people in the clan didn’t like that, but Dad was close friends with the clan leader and was in charge of all the tech so they couldn’t risk him leaving the clan.”

“There will always be bigots no matter how much the world changes,” V smiles sadly at her brother. “I’m sorry the clan was shitty to you.” 

Vince tries to return her smile, “The clan was already divided before any of this happened. Dad always tried his best to smooth things over but after he passed...well it just gave the clan more incentive to kick me out.” 

“They kicked you out for being bi? What fucking assholes!” There’s nothing V hates more than homophobic pieces of shits. She’ll never understand why they can’t see love in all its shapes and forms. Love isn’t just one thing; between a man and woman. It can be anything to all kinds of people. With V having now experienced her own version of love it just makes her even more angry at the people who would see her and Judy together and think that it’s wrong. How can loving someone with every part of yourself be wrong? How can being accepted and protected and being seen for who you truly are be wrong? Love is a force that cannot be stopped, it can only be embraced. Otherwise people will miss out on something extraordinary. 

“They couldn’t officially kick me out, but the harassment was getting so bad that I knew I had to leave. I didn’t want them to turn their hate against me onto Van—so I left. I told Van I was coming here to Night City and that I was gonna finally start to look for you.” 

V pulls up to the front of the bar before facing her brother, “Do you know about Van?” 

Vince raises his eyebrow, “You mean her not-so subtle gayness? Yeah, I’ve known about it for awhile. She hasn’t brought it up to me yet, I’m assuming it’s cause she’s either not ready or she hasn’t fully realized it yet. How did you figure it out?” 

“Besides the fact that she was practically giddy when I told her I had a girlfriend that I live with,” Vince’s eyes shine with joy at the information. “She’s also a lot like myself at that age and the longing in her eyes wasn’t hard to miss.” 

Vince shakes his head and chuckles with a smile, “being queer must run in the family, huh?” 

“Must be a Grey thing,” V smirks playfully and then unbuckles her seatbelt. “Cmon I’m sure Van’s waiting for us.” 

The both of them leave the car and walk up to the bar in comfortable silence. The door opens and not even a second later the both of them are almost bowled over by an overexcited teenager. Van’s wrapped her arms around the both of them and squeezes the three of them together desperately. “I’m so glad you’re both okay!” Van leans back so she can look up at the both of them. “Wow, you two really are twins. I mean knowing it is one thing but seeing it is kinda crazy.” 

V gazes at Vince, who also looks at her, and they both laugh at the mirrored gesture. The merc scans over the rest of the bar seeing that it’s empty, “Hey kid, where’s Mama Wells at?” 

Van takes a step back from them, “She went to finish the inventory before the bar opens up in an hour. She also gave me this,” Van pulls out a holo from her back pocket. V recognizes it instantly from the skull design on the back. “She said it was Jackie’s before he-I tried to tell her she didn’t have to give it to me but she was insistent on it. Said it would be safer for me if I had a way to contact people while we’re in the city.” Van looks at V with a worried expression. “Is it okay if I have this? I can still try to give it back?”

“I would just accept it kid,” V clasps Van’s shoulder. “If Mama Wells wants you to have it then you should keep it. Besides she’s right about you needing a holo while you’re here. It’s very easy to get lost in the city as I’m sure you know.” The merc and Van share a smirk at the reminder of their first meeting. 

“I’m gonna go thank her again and say goodbye,” Van takes off before either of the twins can reply. 

V chuckles fondly, and takes a seat on a nearby chair. “Is she always this full of energy?” 

Vince puts his hands in his back pockets while returning her laughter, “Constantly, especially if she’s working on some kind of project. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to force her to eat and sleep when she’s in her tinkering mood.” 

The merc smiles brightly, “That sounds like my output. She’s a BD editor and she goes into what I refer to as her ‘editing mode’ where all she thinks about is tech and nothing else.” 

“Your girlfriend’s a techie?” Vince rubs his bearded chin with curiosity. 

V puffs her chest out slightly with pride while talking about Judy, “Yup, she’s the best damn editor in the whole city. Many corporations want her to work for them she’s that damn good; but Judy would never work for a Corp. She believes in the beauty of what’s she making and not on the eddies it would provide, like a Corp would. It’s one one of the first things I admired about her.” 

Vince smiles softly at V’s words, “Sounds like you really love this girl.” 

The merc shyly shrugs her shoulders at the comment, “Yeah, she’s my first and only.” 

Vince sits on a chair beside her with slumped shoulders. “I had someone like that too once. He was my best friend before we became more.” Her brother sighs, “I thought I knew who he was y’know? But love can blind you like a motherfucker.” V reaches across the table to grab one of Vince’s twitching hands. He squeezes back in thanks. “He ended up stealing from the clan and joined up with the Raffens. It was his intel that led to the attack that killed Dad.” 

“That’s not your fault Vince,” V says trying to alleviate whatever guilt her brother may be experiencing. 

“Yeah I know,” Vince takes a deep breath and lets it our harshly. “It doesn’t help to dwell on things from the past that can’t be changed. It’s what Dad used to always say.” Her brother squeezes her hand again and locks eyes with her. “I’m glad you have someone you love. From what I’ve learned in the little time I’ve been in this city; real love is a rare commodity.” 

V giddily bites her lip when her thoughts grow consumed by her techie, “Judy is amazing. She’s changed my life and made me want to be a better person. I always believed I’d live and die as a merc in NC, but with her I want something different; something better.” 

Vince watches her with a brotherly amusement, “I hope I get to meet her soon.” He gets a curious glint in his eyes. “Do you think she’d be willing to teach Van some tech stuff? Vanny knows as much as Dad knew, which granted wasn’t that much, but I think she’d really like learning more from someone else.” 

V title her head to the side in thought, “I actually think Judy would love that. She told me once during our first few days dating that she had thought about teaching someone. The only thing is Judy isn’t exactly a people person so it never worked out.” The merc chuckles at the understatement, her love is many things but sociable with others is definitely not one of her strong suits. “I’ll bring it up to her first before we say anything to Van.” 

Vince nods in agreement, “Good idea, Vanny has a tendency to get way ahead of herself on some things.” 

V opens her mouth to respond and is interrupted by the sound of her holo ringing. The merc pulls it out of her pocket and sees an incoming call from Rita. V’s stomach drops instantly. “I have to take this it’s Judy’s work. I’ll be by the car,” V jumps from her seat and speeds out of the bar missing the worried expression on her brother’s face. 

The merc answers the call and Rita’s tired face appears on her screen, “Wheeler, tell me something didn’t happen to Judy.” V’s voice cracks audibly. 

Rita’s eyes grow wide before she sputters quickly, “Hey, hey, easy V, Judy is okay.” The merc’s heart almost stops in her chest hearing that her love is fine but before she can fully relax Rita keeps speaking. “At least she’s okay physically, mentally and emotionally on the other hand...” 

“What the fuck happened Wheeler?” V snaps out of desperation more than anger. 

Rita sighs in exhaustion, “Susie called in an emergency meeting with every Mox in the gang. Which is unheard of unless some other gang is trying to start a war with us.” The bouncer rubs her forehead, “Turns out it was because Susie got info on Jotaro Shobo.” 

That name sends shivers down V’s spine, “Fuck, you mean the sick bastard that the Mox have been searching forever for? The one that-?”

“Tortures and kills helpless joytoys for his depraved XBD’s? Yeah that’s him.” Rita finishes for her. “Susie got her hands on his newest ‘collection’ and she gave them to Judy to analyze. Well, more like ordered her to.”

Dread consumes the merc’s veins at the thought of her love having to sit and watch several of those sick fucks XBDs. “I’m gonna fucking kill Susie, she could’ve had me come in and do it. I would’ve fucking done it for free!” V would’ve gotten down on her hands and knees in front of that stupid Mox leader if it meant keeping Judy from watching that shit. 

“Susie wanted to keep it in house, besides you know she doesn’t like you.”

V curses in both English and Spanish, “How is she?” The merc asks once she’s calmed herself down. 

Rita’s mouth quirks sadly, “I don’t know. She locked herself in her office hours ago and no one’s heard a word since. I’m really starting to worry, that’s why I called you. I figured if anyone can get to her right now, it’s you.” 

If there’s one thing that V has learned since knowing Judy it’s her coping mechanisms. One thing her love tends to do when she’s emotionally compromised is that she’ll hide herself away until the techie can suppress as much as she can inside herself. V has had to use a lot of patience with Judy when it comes to her emotions. Expressing herself doesn’t come easily to the techie and V doesn’t blame her since she can be the same way. The both of them have come far together emotionally, but the merc is worried that this incident may have set her love way back in her progress. 

V catches movement by the bar and watches as her brother and sister head their way towards her. “I’m on my way over there, I don’t give a shit if Susie tries to ban me from Lizzie’s. I need to make sure that Judy is okay, and if she’s not...” Fuck, V is really starting to hate this city and the atrocities it wreaks upon the people she cares about. 

“I’ll talk with a few other girls, we can try to distract Susie so you can sneak in, no promises though,” Rita suggests. 

V angles her holo away so the bouncer doesn’t catch sight of her company. That would just bring up too many questions that V doesn’t exactly have time to answer right now. “Thanks Wheeler, I’ll be there soon.” She says and then hangs up. 

“Is everything okay?” Van asks with a nervous demeanor. 

V sighs unhappily, “Not really, that was Judy’s work. Something’s come up there and I need to go check on her.”

“Is Judy okay?” “Do you want us to come with you?” Van and Vince ask at the same time. 

V’s heart warms at her siblings gestures, “No I need to go on my own. Vince are you currently living anywhere?” 

Her brother’s wariness of being separated so soon is heavily apparent in his voice, “I’ve just been renting motel rooms for the night since I’ve been here. It’s why I started working gigs so I can get somewhere better to stay.” 

V pulls up a contact on her holo, “Okay I’m gonna call a Delamain cab to take you to your room to get any of your stuff. Then I’ll have it take the both of you to an apartment in Watson that I’m still renting. I’ll meet the both of you there.” V’s eyes glow blue temporarily. “I’ve also just sent both of you my contact info and the code to enter the place.” 

Van rushes up to V and envelops her into tight embrace, “Come back soon okay?” 

V ruffles her hair while returning the hug, “I promise kid.” Vince joins in on the hug and the merc relaxes into it. If this is what family feels like then V never wants to lose this feeling. 

•••

V sprints up to the front of Lizzie’s after practically breaking every traffic law to get here. Rita is currently waiting out front for her, having texted the merc just shortly before she arrived that her and a few others made a plan to distract Susie so V could sneak in. 

“We need to move quickly before the girls run out of shit to say. They have her in her office so you’ll have to take the long way round.” Rita and her enter the bar, trying to keep out of sight of cameras. V notices all the Mox members gathered around as she walks across the bar’s main floor. Some who know her personally even nod respectfully at her as she walks by. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Mox in one place,” V says to the bouncer while returning many of the members gestures. 

Rita snorts, “Yeah well, Jotaro has hurt a lot of joytoys. All the girl’s just want to end his nightmare once and for all.”

V exhales harshly, “Yeah Judy’s told me some stories about him. I’d gladly empty my gun into his face.” 

“You and everyone else here,” Rita leads V down the stairs to the basement. They arrive at the door to Judy’s office seeing the red light indicating that it’s locked. “She changed the code for the door so no one’s been able to enter. I tried calling for her but I got no answer, that was when I stated to worry and I holo’d you. The only reason Susie hasn’t stormed the place is cause I’ve persuaded her to believe that the BDs are harder to crack than we think.” 

V places her palm against the cool metal of the door, “Thanks for this Wheeler, and for sneaking me in past the She-devil.” 

Rita’s lips quirk in amusement before sighing, “I’d do anything for Judy and for you V. You’ve made that girl happier than I’ve ever seen her. And you’ve helped a lot of people here, including me. So whatever the both of you need-any time-just ask and the Mox will always have your back.” 

V punches the bouncer’s arm lightheartedly, “You’re a good friend Wheeler.”

Rita smiles genuinely in a rare display, “I’ll keep an eye on things upstairs. Not sure how much time you’ll have before Susie loses patience and comes down to check on Judy’s progress.” The bouncer takes her leave and V leans her head against the locked door. Trying to reach out to her love who’s locked herself away—both physically and emotionally. 

“Baby, hey it’s me,” V projects her voice through the door to get Judy’s attention. “Can I come in..?”

•••

The last few hours of Judy’s life has been a complete and total upheaval. When she arrived at Lizzie’s the whole place was abuzz with chaotic energy. Mox members were crowded around areas of the bar, speculating on what was happening. If they were about to enter a war, if someone had died; so on and so forth. Judy caught sight of Rita leaning against the bar alone and made a beeline towards her, hoping the bouncer had some answers. 

Rita spots her and sags in relief, “Thank fuck you’re finally here. I thought Susie was gonna blow a fucking fuse if you didn’t get here soon.” 

Judy’s forehead crinkles, “Am I the last one here?” 

“A few others got here just before you but yeah everyone should be here now.” 

Judy leans back next to the bouncer, “So do you know what’s going on?” 

Rita leans closer to the techie so as not to be overheard, “I heard a rumor that Susie got a lead on Jotaro.” 

Judy’s eyes widen, “Are you serious?” The shock in the techie’s voice is undeniable considering the man was always a ghost. Every time their netrunners got a lead on his whereabouts it never panned out or was a lie. “Is it for real this time?” 

Rita shrugs, “Dunno, Susie must think so or she’s got a new plan figured out if she’s called a meeting with everyone.” 

“Well shit,” Judy slumps back further in shock at the events. “No wonder she’s having a meltdown.” The last time the Mox had a lead on trying to find the piece of shit’s hideout it lead to a bloodbath and a lot of the members started questioning Susie’s leadership. “If this doesn’t pan out like the last time...” Judy doesn’t even have to finish her sentence knowing Rita probably understands what she means. Another failure to find Jotaro and Susie will most likely have to step down as the leader. 

“Yup, shit’s about to get serious,” Rita turns around and grabs a bottle of tequila from off the bar. “Imma need a few shots for this shitshow.” The bouncer pours out four shots and hands two of them to the techie. Judy gratefully takes them and downs both of them back to back. 

Rita puts the rest of the bottle back and the entire bar hushes down as Susie emerges from her office. 

“Alright listen up all of you!” Susie projects her voice and casts her gaze around the room. Her eyes lock onto Judy for longer than the others and the techie almost squirms under the scrutinization. “As some of you may have heard there’s been a development. Our netrunners managed to track down some of Jotaro’s most recent XBD’s.” Exclaims of shock and anger burst out of many of the members. “Enough!” The Mox leader snaps before continuing, “Now that we have evidence of his depraved work, we can finally analyze it to narrow down his exact location.” 

Shit, Judy does not like the sound of this. If she thinks what Susie is hinting at is true—then Susie is about to lay the entire fate of her leadership at the techie’s feet. 

“Fuck, she’s about to throw you to the fucking wolves isn’t she?” Rita whispers next to her in anger. 

“Our BD editor, Judy,” All eyes in the room land on her and it takes every ounce of the techie’s restraint not to flinch under all of the attention. “She’ll be in charge of analyzing every XBD we got our hands on. Hopefully with enough luck and with her technical expertise—we’ll have his location by sundown.” 

In Rita’s words, not only did Susie just throw her to wolves, but she just placed the entire outcome of this plan on Judy’s shoulders. So if Judy finds nothing on those XBD’s, she will get the entire blame for it and Susie will be spared the backlash. 

“I can’t believe she just fucking did that to you,” Rita cusses and downs her shots. 

Judy watches as the members go back to their quiet conversations, most likely talking about the techie’s new job. Judy pinches the bridge of her nose with irritation. “Are you honestly that surprised?” 

Rita sighs while preparing herself another shot of tequila, “I really wish that I was. You’re literally the glue that holds this entire gang together and without you the Mox wouldn’t be receiving a steady income of eddies from your BD work. Susie is too blind by her position as leader to see that, and now she’s gonna pin this whole thing on you! It’s fucking unfair!” The bouncer in her frustration gives up on pouring the liquor into a glass and ends up taking a swig straight from the bottle. Rita slams it back onto the bar counter and then curses when they both catch sight of Susie making her way over. “Something wicked this way comes,” Rita mutters darkly and Judy clenches her teeth shut lest she start laughing. 

The are greeted by the permanent scowl on Susie’s face when she stops in front of them. “The XBD’s are in your office. I expect you to start working on them immediately. I want results as soon as possible.” 

Judy scoffs, “Not like you’ve given me much choice.” Susie goes to spout more bullshit but Judy just holds her hand up. “I’m not going to do this for you. I’m going to do this for the 17 girls that bastard’s killed.” 

The Mox leader glares heatedly at the techie, “Whatever helps you sleep at night. Get to work, both of you.” Susie’s glare cuts to the bouncer as well before she storms off to hide herself away in her office. 

Judy and Rita just rolls their eyes at each other, “Well, you heard Miss Queenie,” The bouncer nudges Judy’s shoulder playfully. “Good luck Judy.” Rita sighs, “For what it’s worth, if anyone can find Jotaro, it’s you. I’m just sorry you have to watch that shit.” 

“I’ll watch anything if it means that fucker is finally found,” Judy replies with steel in her voice. She’s already trying to prepare herself for what she’ll have to do. 

Rita places her hand on the techie’s shoulder, “Just remember that we’re here for you.”

Judy nods and smiles as much as she can, “Thanks Rita.” The bouncer nods back before walking off to start working her shift. 

That was hours ago for Judy. Hours of watching the most horrendously torturous XBD’s the techie has ever seen before. Most of them didn’t give away much information as to where the location they were filmed at is. The only thing Judy’s managed to narrow down so far is which province the location could be in. 

The techie’s search has been slow going with how many times she’s either had to pause the film to empty the contents of her stomach. Or by the fact she’s almost had a complete breakdown after watching Jotaro get more and more inventive in each XBD. 

It wasn’t until a stray thought about what happened to Evie popped into Judy’s mind during one of her searches that the techie completely lost it. The girl’s face that was on the BD became that of her lost friend’s and she couldn’t stand it anymore. Judy ripped the wreath from her head and clumsily removed the editing glove from her hand, throwing them on her desk. She stands shakily from her chair before collapsing. Her knees strike the ground hard but the techie doesn’t feel any pain as everything in her mind starts screaming all at once. It feels similar to when her and V’s minds were linked and she could hear echoes of the last things she said to Evelyn. Only now it was like she was reliving the whole experience all over again. She was feeling every pain, ever ounce of betrayal, all the anger that coursed through her during her attempt to overthrow clouds. All of it was swarming before her eyes and Judy roughly pushed her hands against her ears hoping it would stop the voices from screeching in her head. 

Judy doesn’t know how long she’s in that position before she hears a voice call out to her. 

“Baby, hey it’s me,” V’s voice penetrates the chaos of her mind. “Can I come in...?”

While the techie would normally hate for anyone to see her like this, her heart also aches for the merc’s presence. It takes considerable effort on Judy’s part to focus enough on unlocking her office doors. She doesn’t move from where she is crouched on the floor with her head bowed down in pain. 

V must spot her after the doors open cause Judy hears a sharp intake of breath followed by her love’s husky voice. “Oh baby...” The techie senses V get closer to her but she doesn’t touch Judy yet. “Do you want space? Or do you want me to sit with you?” The merc keeps her questions in that soft voice so as not to disrupt Judy further. Her love’s tenderness becomes her undoing. The techie blindly reaches out a hand for V and when she feels the merc reach out for her as well, Judy yanks her closer and is immediately in the merc’s arms. That’s when Judy loses the ability to hold black the flood that’s been building for months now. 

Deep wretched sobs burst from her lips as if they’ve been trying to escape for years. V whispers sweet nothings into her ear while her hand rubs soothingly through her hair. “Let it out baby, you’ve been holding this back for too long,” The merc tightens her hold on Judy after the techie cries harder at the words. “That’s it, don’t hold back.” 

Judy’s hands clutch at the back of the leather jacket V is wearing. Her face is buried deep within the merc’s neck and the faint smell of the woman she loves engulfs her senses. The techie takes V’s words to heart and she unleashes all the emotions she’s kept buried within since the first day they met. The merc rocks her back and forth, absorbing everything that Judy throws at her. 

After what feels like hours of nonstop tears, the techie’s torrent of pain begins to ebb. Her breathing gets deeper as her sobs break away. V places soft kisses against the side of her head and Judy sags in exhaustion, she would’ve fallen over if she had not already been in the merc’s hold. 

The two of them sit in silence for a few minutes before Judy finally breaks it, “I miss her.” 

V lightly scratches Judy’s back, “I know baby.” She says and the techie isn’t even surprised that V seems to understand exactly why she lost it. 

Judy sniffles a few times and lifts her head from the merc’s shoulder. V lovingly wipes away any leftover tears from her face. The techie leans into the caresses, “I can’t watch anymore. I just can’t.” 

V places her lips against Judy’s forehead, “You don’t have to. I’ll watch the rest of them and I’ll find where the bastard is hiding and I’ll take care of it okay?”

Judy’s throat clogs with relief and the merc tucks her hair behind her ear. “Thank you...for being here,” She whispers. 

V traces the side of her cheek with her fingertips, the techie’s heart shudders at the familiar gesture. “I’m always here for you, always.” The merc grabs her hands, “Cmon let’s get you seated while I finish up the search. We’ll combine everything we’ve found at the end and we’ll stop him.” 

Judy allows V to lift her from the ground and gently guide her back to her office chair. The merc picks up Judy’s discarded wreath and places it on her head. “The only thing I’ve found out so far is them at he’s somewhere in Kabuki, you’ll just have to narrow it down from there.” 

“Kabuki huh? That’s not good for the Mox,” V replies and the techie agrees. That place is completely run by Tyger Claws. If the Mox showed up there it would cause an instant war. “Alright let’s get this done.” It only takes V about a half hour to locate Jotaro’s hideout. She narrows it down by using signs outside the windows, and scanning every scrap of paper that was in sight. The merc removes the wreath when she returns from the last XBD, “Got the fucker, he’s in Ho-Oh club in Kabuki.” 

Judy’s office doors open and she realizes that she forgot to relock them after letting V in. Susie marches into the basement with pure hatred on her face. “The fuck is she doing here?! We don’t need outside help!” 

V stands up and walks right up to the Mox leader’s face, “How about you get the fuck over yourself. Me and Judy found where Jotaro is hiding and the Mox can’t go there without starting a war. So how you change your fucking attitude and nicely ask me to go kill him for you?” 

Susie scoffs loudly, “I’d rather pay another merc to handle it than let you do it.” 

The merc crosses her arms, “And yet I’m here willing to do it for free. Isn’t saving eddies the only thing you really care about in the end? Or is your pride going to let Jotaro get away while we stand here measuring dick sizes.” 

Susie tsks harshly at the merc’s logic and Judy is almost reminded of a snake hissing before it strikes. “Fine, get it done, but I’m warning you, if you fuck this up for me then Judy is gone from the Moxes.” 

“You don’t deserve her being here. You should grovel at her feet and beg her to stay because once we leave this place you’ll have no one to make your precious eddies for you. And then you’ll truly be fucked.” The techie squirms in her chair watching her love rip into the infuriating woman. Who knew watching her output stick up for her would be such a turn on? 

“Please she’ll come crawling back just like she does every other time she’s tried to leave. Maybe next time I won’t be so forgiving,” Susie glares at the silent techie and Judy glares right back. The leader turns around with a disgusted huff and marches back out of the office. 

When the doors close behind her Judy quickly rises from her chair and pulls V against her. The merc’s eyes widen before she lets out a delicious moan when Judy latches their lips together. The kiss is highly charged with the techie’s lust. She breaches V’s lips with her tongue and the merc deepens their kiss even further. V’s hands wander down to cup her ass and pull her closer to the merc’s body. Judy groans at the move and bites at her love’s bottom lip. 

“Fuck,” V moans when they both break apart for air. “What was that for? Not that I would ever complain.” She smirks with a dazed expression in her eyes. 

Judy rests their foreheads together to try and temper her libido, “You’re ridiculously sexy when you defend my honor.” 

V’s smirk only widens at this, “I could’ve told you that.” 

Judy rolls her eyes with a smile, “Always have to ruin the moment don’t you?” 

V chuckles and pecks Judy’s lips, “I can’t help it.” 

Judy returns the kiss before a thought pops up in her head, she pulls back with wide eyes. “Shit V I forgot, did you find your brother?” 

The merc’s smile is almost blinding when she replies, “Yeah I did.” 

“How was it?” Judy wonders as she absently twirls the hairs at the back of V’s neck. 

V tilts her head to the side in thought, “It was surreal. I’m still trying to process it all but it’s also...” The merc bites her lip nervously, “I don’t know it’s also kind of nice, to know what having blood family that actually cares about you feels like.” 

Judy pulls out the lip that V is still biting and gently rubs her thumb over it. “Where are they now?” 

V takes the techie’s hand and kisses the inside of her palm before placing it over her heart. “I sent them to my old place since I’m still renting it. Vince doesn’t have a permanent place in the city so I was gonna give him the place if he’s interested.” 

“Hm, that’s smart,” Judy can’t exactly hide the slight shock in her voice. 

V snorts and pokes the techie’s side in rebuff, “I do have some random smart ideas every once in awhile. Not everyone can be both sexy and a genius like you.” 

Judy chuckles bashfully, “Gonk.” 

V tweaks the techie’s nose with a smirk, “Your gonk.” Judy smiles and lays her head on the merc’s shoulder. She lets out a deep breath as she relaxes for the first time in hours. Their familiar banter is a balm on the techie’s soul. “Do you wanna go home and relax while I take out the garbage?” 

Judy shakes her head and mumbles into her love’s shoulder, “I don’t want to be alone there right now.” 

“Well you can go to my old place and meet my brother? I can get some pizzas when I’m done and we can all have dinner together or something,” V quickly suggests uncertainly. 

Judy lifts her head so she can reply more clearly, “That sounds nice actually.” 

V smiles hopefully, “Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Judy replies softly, “An apartment full of Greys. What could go wrong?” 

They both share a laugh at the dig, “A whole hell of a lot I’d say. I’m pretty sure gonkness runs in the family.” 

Judy places her hands on V’s cheeks, “I’m so glad I met you. Even if I thought you were infuriating,” The merc mockingly gasps and Judy nudges her. “It’s true you were, but you were also ridiculously sexy.” V waggles her eyebrows and the techie rolls her eyes. Why did she have to fall for such a brat? “I gave up on life a long time before you came along. I just didn’t feel anything anymore, everyday was the same disappointment over and over. The more I hated the injustice in the city and in my life the more I hid myself away, but you found me. You reminded me what it’s like to be happy. And what it’s like to be loved.” 

V’s face shines with adoration as she listens to Judy, “Took the words right out of my mouth.” 

Judy leans closer to the merc and rubs their noses together, “Be careful mi calabacita, Jotaro is dangerous.” 

“Nothing is more dangerous than you in the morning with no coffee,” V snickers and Judy pinches her side. “I’ll be careful I promise.” V kisses her hard to reinforce her statement. The merc leans away slightly out of breath, “I’ll text you when it’s done and I’m on my way.” V pecks her forehead before leaving the basement to start her monster hunt. 

Judy picks up her equipment that’s been scattered around and then grabs a metal waste bin. She throws the XBD’s inside it and pulls her lighter out of her back pocket. The techie then lights the offending films on fire, cleansing away the horrors that lies within. If only she could do the same with her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted a chapter where Judy could properly grieve what happened to Evelyn so I thought the gig with Jotaro would be a good catalyst for that. 
> 
> More Grey family bonding in the next chapter!


	14. Family bonding pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter. 
> 
> I had a shit week so this chapter felt very lackluster in my opinion. So sorry if that’s reflected in this, I couldn’t quite get into my full writing spirit but I also didn’t want to leave y’all hanging. So I put some of my frustration into the very last part of this chapter and well... you’ll see

V carefully places the three boxes of pizzas on her passenger seat when she gets in her car and texts Judy that she’ll be there soon. Taking down Jotaro for the Mox was a gig that V would be willing to do for free any time. The merc gets plenty of gig offers that involve assassinations, but not all of them are for fuckers like Jotaro. V doesn’t usually accept the gig if she believes the person she has to kill doesn’t deserve it; but more often than not they usually do. V can easily say that she doesn’t lose any sleep over it—and tonight she’ll probably sleep like a fucking baby. 

The club Jotaro was in was pretty easy to sneak into. The merc took her time to survey the place and mapped out a way for her to sneak up onto a balcony that had one lonely guard on it. Taking him out was child’s play. She then made her way into the next room where she found Jotaro himself. V didn’t want to kill him right away, so she snuck up behind him and put him in a choke hold. When the piece of shit passed out, V threw his unconscious body on his bed. She then went out to investigate the rest of the floor. When she saw his makeshift studio covered in blood it took everything the merc had not to lose control. 

V’s fury coursed through her veins as she struck down every Tyger Claw wandering the halls either using her bare hands or her knives. One by one they fell to their deaths until the only body left alive was Jotaro. Before going to finish him off V made sure to destroy every single piece of his equipment. She knew it wouldn’t do much in the long run but it made her feel somewhat better in the moment. 

Finally, when the merc was satisfied that all evidence of Jotaro’s work was thoroughly destroyed, she went to take care of the man himself. He was still passed out on the bed and V was slightly disappointed that he’d be getting off so easy. She thought about all the women that this man tortured and felt her hatred churn in her stomach. The hand that was holding her knife twitched; she wanted that man to pay. V looked about the room for something she could use to make him feel extreme pain before he died. An inkling of an idea popped into her mind when she perused his liquor cabinet. 

V chuckled darkly at her idea and began putting her plan into motion. The merc stripped Jotaro of his clothes and then used the industrial straps she found in a box full of sadistic sex toys to tie his hands and feet to the bed tightly so he couldn’t move. She then shoved some cloth into his mouth and wrapped a scarf around his head as a gag. V grabbed a few bottles of Whiskey from his liquor cabinet and poured the whole contents of it over him. He began to wake up when the merc was pouring it over his head. He immediately started thrashing in his bonds and even tried to scream at her but all the came out was muffled nonsense. 

“Trying to escape from this would be a waste of time. I’ve come to bring justice to all the women you murdered,” V watched emotionlessly as he fought even harder to get free. The merc pulled out a lighter from her back pocket and flicked it open causing a flame to rise up. Jotaro’s eyes widened with fear as tears began pouring down his face. V passively watched him a few minutes longer, letting him feel as much fear as those women felt while he had them just as helpless. “Burn in hell you son of a bitch,” V said before tossing the lighter onto his body. The flame instantly ignited the alcohol she poured onto him. His body was engulfed in seconds and his muffled screaming grew louder as his body burned. The merc stayed long enough to know that he was really dead before leaving the same way she came in. She knew it wouldn’t be long until someone realized that a fire started, but by then all they would find is the remains of Jotaro’s entire operation. 

Afterwards, when V was sure that she had plenty of distance from the club she texted Judy to let her know it was done. 

Jude: are you okay?

V let her love’s concern wash away the darkness from her soul. She had to become her old self for this gig, someone who felt nothing as she set a man on fire. V took deep breaths while slowly putting away her mercenary persona. 

V: I’m okay. Are you?

Jude: as long as you are then so am I.

V smiles at the words and then her holo buzzes again causing the merc to chuckle when she reads the new message. 

Jude: Also Van informed me that you called me a nerd. You must be a real glutton for punishment mi calabacita 

V: you still love me though ;)

Jude: unfortunately for you ;) 

V: on my way soon. Then you can punish me all you want

Jude: oh I plan on it 

V sighs longingly, just knowing that Judy is waiting for her and won’t hesitate to pull her into her arms even knowing what V has just done—it’s the best thing the merc could ever ask for. The techie accepts V for all her flaws and for all the darkness that still lingers inside of her. None of it scares Judy away and V will never know what she did to deserve such a woman. 

V drives the rest of the way to her old megabuilding in silence. The smell of the pizza has her stomach rumbling like nobody’s business. A successful gig always leaves V feeling ravenous in more ways than one. The merc parks her car next to Judy’s van and hastens her steps to the elevator wanting to get to her family as quickly as possible. 

V enters her old place with a smile and then stops abruptly at the scene in front of her. Judy and her siblings are howling with laughter on the couch. Van in her hysterics falls off to the floor which only makes them laugh even louder. 

“Uh, what’s happening here?” Three sets of eyes lock onto her and V raises an eyebrow as the laughing continues. 

“Judy here was just telling us an interesting story,” Vince manages to say in between bouts of chuckles. 

The merc whines pitifully in embarrassment, “Judyyyyyy.” Already knowing the story that the techie probably told them, considering it’s one of Judy’s favorites. The Aldecados had invited V to the clan one day to participate in one of their game nights. They had different competitions set up from shooting, to running, and even driving. The merc signed up for all of them and even managed to snag a few wins. It wasn’t until Panam decided to personally challenge V in an obstacle course that things took a turn. The merc’s first mistake was accepting the challenge. Her second mistake was believing that Panam wouldn’t pull a fast one on V. The nomad informed the merc that the outfit she was wearing wouldn’t be suitable for the race. So Panam supplied V with a new set of dreads. Welp, as you can imagine V found out this was a lie a little too late. 

By the time she got to the end of the course she hadn’t realized that the back of her pants had burned away during the part of the race where you had to leap over pits of fire. So while V was hopped up with adrenaline (and adding the fact that she normally goes commando), she didn’t notice that her bare ass was hanging out for most of the course. It took Panam making a comment about there being two full moons out that night for everyone to lose their shit. It’s now become one of the clan’s favorite things to tease the merc about. 

Judy’s chuckles die down and she gets up from the couch to pull a blushing V to her. The techie kisses her burning cheeks in apology. 

“I’m gonna get you back for this,” the merc mumbles under her breath. 

Judy smirks and whispers so only V can hear her, “Promise?” 

V chuckles at her girl, “Cheeky.” The merc kisses Judy’s lips and tries not to linger knowing they have an audience. “Well if the three of you are done embarrassing me. I’ve got pizza.” The merc sets the boxes down on the coffee table and Van immediately dives in to grab a few slices. 

Vince being the gentleman that he is, waits for everyone to get their food before he does. “So Val, how did you become a part of the Aldecados? That clan is practically legendary amongst the nomads.” 

V takes a seat at one side of the couch and grabs Judy to pull her into her lap. The techie wiggles slightly and the merc sneakily pokes her side to stop her teasing. She brings her attention back to her brother, “Well I met one of their members during a job. She was on the outs with her clan because of a difference of opinion with their leader. The two of us became pretty good friends and we even fixed her relationship with them to the point where she now co-leads for the Aldecados.”

Vince chews his slice of pizza in deep thought before speaking, “Are they a good clan?” 

V lays her chin on Judy’s shoulder, “Yeah they’re pretty amazing. Even when Pan was on the outs with them they still showed up for her when she needed help.” 

“Do you think we could meet them?” Van asks around a mouthful of food. 

“If that’s what the two of you want?” V directs the question to Vince considering his past with his own clan. 

Van gazes hopefully at her brother and V chuckles knowing how futile it’ll be now for him to say no. He sighs in exasperation, “Yeah why not.” 

V smirks slightly, “Don’t worry Vince, you’ll like them. Just don’t get on Panam’s bad side and you’ll be good.” Judy snorts at the warning. 

The techie goes to take another bite of her pizza but V redirects her arm so that she’s the one taking the bite instead. The merc grins triumphantly at Judy’s glare. “Eat your own food.” 

V pouts dramatically, “But yours is so much better.” 

Judy rolls her eyes and offers another bite to a grinning V, “You’re lucky I love you.” 

V kisses her cheek, “The luckiest.” 

“You guys are cute,” Vince says while watching them with a smile. “How did the two of you meet?” 

V and Judy finish eating before answering, “Judy and I met during one of my gigs. We had a bit of a rough start but we grew close very quickly because of certain circumstances.” The merc picks up her techie’s hand and kisses her palm. “I just fell madly for her, I mean who wouldn’t?” 

Judy chuckles softly, “You are always such a charmer. Even at the beginning when you flirted with me using tech.” 

V smirks, “Well it worked didn’t it?” 

The rest of night is spent with the four of them sharing both happy and sad stories of the past. There are many laughs and tears released but by the end they all feel closer than they were before. V hands over the proverbial ‘keys’ to her old place to Vince and it takes a lot of convincing for him to accept them. In the end he sees the benefit of having a safe place for him and Van to live that’s also close by to V and Judy’s place. The merc even lets Vince peruse her weapon room where they spend about an hour geeking out over different guns and swords that V’s collected over the years. 

Van and Judy even have their own bonding session where they talked about restoring old vehicles. Which then lead into technical terms that went right over V and Vince’s head. 

Overall the night was one of the best that V has had in awhile and the brightness in Judy’s eyes while she talked shop with her little sister eased the merc’s worries about what happened earlier today. 

So V was having a hard time trying to pry herself away from this new dynamic she was experiencing; at least until Judy came over to her and whispered in her ear that she had a surprise for her at home. That lit a fuse inside the merc that had been building since the end of her gig and was slowly being stoked by the techie’s teasing touches and sly remarks. The merc excused the both of them by saying flimsy excuses of being tired and needing to get home so they could sleep. All the while Vince was smirking at the bullshit she was spewing, not believing a word but going along with it in front of Van. Her little sister became despondent at the fact that they were leaving and V had to make many promises for the two of them to see each other as much as possible in the days to come. 

When all the goodbyes were said and done, V grabbed Judy’s hand and basically sprinted out of the apartment to get home. The techie just laughed at the merc’s eagerness and made no attempt to slow her down. 

•••

V almost slams Judy’s back against the door to their apartment after it closes. The techie groans at the move and the merc latches their lips together in a furious battle for dominance. Neither one breaks, and V loves their constant back and forth; both of them trying to see who will succeed over the other, and knowing neither of them will. It’s a game they love to play with one another. A battle of wills, you could call it. V runs her hand down the side of Judy’s body and then lifts her leg to wrap it around her waist. 

The techie leans her head back against the door as the merc kisses down the side of her neck. She moans breathily and arches her back when V’s teeth nip at her pulse point. V presses her thigh firmly between her love’s legs and watches with lust-filled eyes as Judy begins to rut against her. V leans down so her lips are next to the techie’s ear, “So, where’s my surprise?” Her voice is rough with her pent up passion. 

The merc can feel Judy chuckle under her lips and pulls back so she can look into her eyes. The techie has a cheeky smirk on her face, “I lied. Consider it your last punishment for calling me a nerd.” 

V tsks and shakes her head in mock disappointment, “You’re such a fucking tease you know that?” 

Judy’s eyes smolder at the merc’s words and her eyebrow rises pointedly, “What’re you gonna do about it?” 

V’s playfulness vanishes from her completely as she picks up her love and presses her back into the wall again. “I’m gonna fuck you til you scream my name and the neighbors will have to call the cops again.” 

Judy grabs the back of V’s head tightly, “Then get on with it.” The merc dives into her and their kiss is anything but gentle. Harsh breaths are exchanged between them as the battle from earlier continues with a higher intensity. V’s hands tighten their grip on Judy’s thighs and the techie pulls the merc’s hair spurring them on even further. 

V presses her hips into Judy to free one of her hands and clumsily unclasps the strap of the techie’s overalls. The merc quickly sets her down so Judy can shimmy out of them. V kicks the offending garment away from them once it hits the floor and puts Judy right back where she was before. 

The techie brings their lips back together in a furious embrace. Her tongue breaks through V’s lips and the merc groans loudly. Judy takes one of V’s hands and guides her down where the techie needs her most. The merc never hesitates to answer her love’s needs and pushes aside the now soaked fabric. Judy shudders when V’s fingers run through her folds. 

“Fuck baby,” V husks against Judy’s lips. “You’re so wet for me.” 

Judy bites down on the merc’s lip, “Less talking, more fucking.” 

V smirks wolfishly at her love’s want, “Yes ma’am.” The merc sets Judy back on her feet and drops down onto her knees in front of her. The techie watches with blown pupils and ragged breathing. V doesn’t waste anymore time and rips Judy’s underwear down her legs. She throws one of the techie’s legs over her shoulder and Judy moans loudly when V begins to devour her in earnest. Her tongue strokes over Judy’s aching clit in a rhythm that the merc has memorized over the many times she’s worshipped her love in this way. When V feels the familiar hand in her hair pulling her closer that’s when she knows to wrap her lips around her clit and suck harshly. Judy’s cries of pleasure fill her ears and V has to clench her hands on Judy’s thighs to keep from touching herself at the glorious sound. 

“Fuck yes, right there V,” the techie moans and rocks her hips against the merc’s tongue. “Fuck, I need more, please V...fuck!” Judy shouts in ecstasy when V enters her with her two fingers and she begins to pump her hips even harder. The merc matches her pace and never once removes her tongue. “Oh fuck... oh fuck...” Judy’s moans grow in volume as her hips start to lose their rhythm. “So fucking close V, faster...faster please,” the merc furiously pumps her fingers inside of Judy until she finally feels that telltale sign of the techie’s impending orgasm. 

Judy screams out V’s name when she cums and the merc slowly works her through it and removes her mouth knowing how sensitive her girl gets after her first orgasm. When the spasms around her fingers slow down Judy exhales harshly and V eases her down to the ground so she’s sitting in her lap. The merc holds Judy against her while kissing the side of her head. “You okay baby?” V whispers and rubs a soothing hand down her girl’s back. 

Judy slowly lifts her head to rest it against V’s forehead and then raises a slightly shaky hand. The techie caresses the merc’s cheek with a light touch, “Mm, I really needed that.” Judy’s eyes close contentedly. 

“Cmon baby, let’s get you to bed,” V carefully picks her up bridal style and walks into their bedroom. She gently puts her cargo down onto the bed and strips off her own clothing. Judy immediately pulls her down next to her once she’s naked and enfolds herself into V’s arms. That’s when the merc feels the tears falling on her chest, “Baby...hey what is it?” V tries to look at Judy’s face but the techie just buries herself further into her chest. 

“Don’t ever leave me..” Judy’s voice is muffled but the anguish V can hear in it is clear. 

The merc wraps her arms around Judy tightly, “Oh baby, I’m right here okay? I’m right here.” V continues to whisper that she’s here until the death grip that Judy has on her loosens slightly. After a few minutes of peaceful silence V finally asks, “Do you want to go to the Columbarium tomorrow and see her?” 

The merc waits for an answer with baited breath until she finally feels a little nod against her chest and she sighs inwardly in relief. “Okay baby, we’ll go first thing in the morning.” V caresses her hand through Judy’s hair, “Get some sleep okay? I’m right here.” V doesn’t promise that she’ll always be here like she wants to, because as much as the merc would love to say that to reassure Judy—she doesn’t know if that’s a promise she could keep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wrote a part that had Judy meeting Vince and ended up rewriting it like four times but hated it each time so I just cut it out entirely.

**Author's Note:**

> In my play through I used street kid backstory( which I’ll probably flesh out in other chapters) and chose the panam route at the end so judy and v leave the city.


End file.
